Taken Away 2: Pushed Away
by unknownbyhim22
Summary: *Title change* ...it was there where they would see what they haven’t in so long...where they would remember the good times only to realize that the bad times were happening now, alone and five years later. T&G hopefully.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey, everyone! I'm really excited to be getting the sequel up! This is the first chapter, but I'm not going to be able to update it soon... I'm working on my best firend's birthday present and that is taking up my time right now. If I have extra time I'll be sure to work on this story! Enjoy this chapter and don't forget to review!**

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**Chapter One**

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Gabriella looked out of her dorm window, the night sky was blank with darkness, and no stars were out like they always were in Albuquerque. No one was outside as she peered down to the sidewalks and lawns of Yale University. She pulled her knees to her chest and sighed heavily before looking over at Taylor who was already trying to sleep. She looked back outside and then back at Taylor when she heard movement. Taylor was now sitting up; looking at Gabriella and Gabriella could see the sparkle of tears against her cheek, knowing that sleeping was not what Taylor was just doing.

"Tay, are you okay?" Gabriella whispered as she walked over to Taylor's bed and sat down next to her.

"I miss him so much." Taylor answered as she wiped away her tears.

"I know." Gabriella answered as she hugged her best friend, gently.

"How can you do it, Gabriella?" She asked as she leaned her head against her shoulder.

"Do what?" Gabriella asked.

"I'm still dating Chad and I talk to him everyday, but I still miss him. You broke up with Troy… how are you even getting through the day?" She asked.

"We didn't break up, Tay. We just took a break." Gabriella answered quietly.

"You broke up, Gabs. There's nothing you can do to fix it. Taking a break is breaking up." Taylor answered honestly.

"It wasn't supposed to be like this." Gabriella answered as Taylor sat up and looked at her, worriedly.

"What wasn't?"

"We were supposed to get through this. We promised we'd stay together even when I left. We were just worried about you and Chad staying together and now we're the ones that aren't together." Gabriella answered.

"When was the last time you talked to him?" Taylor wondered.

"I don't even remember anymore, Tay. We've been here for almost four years and we broke up a year into this. When he called me to break up with me was the last time I talked to him." Gabriella answered.

"I'm so sorry, Gabs. After everything you've been through with him… it doesn't seem fair." Taylor replied.

"Nothing's fair anymore, Tay and we didn't go through anything that a normal couple wouldn't have." Gabriella answered as she stood up to walk over to her bed.

"Gabriella…" Taylor started.

"I don't want to talk about it, Tay. Not tonight." She answered as she pulled her bed covers over her to go to sleep.

"Goodnight then."

"Night."

The truth was that Gabriella hasn't talked about anything since her break up with Troy. Not the hostage crisis from senior year or even of the day she got accepted to Yale. Sure, she talked with Taylor about Chad and her friends, but it was never her who brought up the subject of the past, it was always someone else. She kept in touch with the girls and the guys, but not Troy. She was really close to Chad and Zeke lately and she always found herself calling them in the middle of the night just to make sure everything was okay.

_Gabriella was sitting in her closet when three o'clock in the morning came around, her phone was against her ear and she was listening to the annoying ringing noise, waiting for Zeke to answer his phone. She heard a groan from the other line and knew that it was Zeke's way of saying hello._

_"Hey, Zeke, it's me." She said with a small smile._

_Gabriella heard a crashing noise from the other line and than a few stumbling footsteps._

_"Oh, hey Gabs!" Zeke said quietly from the other line._

_"Are you okay?" Gabriella asked with a quiet laugh._

_"Yeah, I kind of fell off of my bed, no worries though." He said with a tired laugh. "So what's up?" He asked._

_"I just wanted to call to see if everything was okay over there. I was watching a basketball game and I thought of you." She answered as she played with a shoe strap, which belonged to one of Taylor's shoes that was sitting on the bottom of the closet. _

_"Well, everything is good over here. Chad is now the co-captain of the varsity team." Zeke explained._

_"That's great! How are your culinary classes?" Gabriella asked._

_"They're great! I just perfected my lemon tarts!" Zeke said excitedly, now fully up._

_"Well, when I come back I expect to have a few waiting for me." Gabriella said with a small laugh and smile._

_"When are you coming back, Gabs? We miss you." Zeke said in a serious tone._

_Gabriella shifted uncomfortably in her spot, wondering who the 'we' in that statement really was. Her smile turned into a frown as she answered Zeke._

_"Not for a while, Zeke." She answered. _

That was almost three years ago and now Gabriella's 'not for a while' was turning into a 'soon.' She and Taylor were graduating within the year and they would be back for the high school reunion. It was there where they would see what they haven't in so long… where they would remember the good times only to realize that the bad times were happening now, alone and five years later.

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**I hope this chapter didn't bore you out of your mind! It's kind of just the beginning background information and the drama is sure to start within the next couple of chapters!**

**Much love,**

**unknownbyhim22**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey, everyone! Here's the next chapter to Pushed Away! The chapters are going to be coming slowly for this one until I get more time… I'm hoping for 10 more reviews. Enjoy!

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**Chapter Two

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Gabriella laughed as Taylor threw a pair of socks at her as she went through her closet. They were getting rid of a few things in their dorm because they had to get their accumulated junk minimized so when they packed to go home it would be easier to bring everything back to Albuquerque. The window by their beds was open, letting a cool breeze into their dorm and making the room less musty. A knock on the door was heard and it opened when they shouted their "come in!" A blonde boy with a Yale sweater on smiled as he walked in with folded boxes tucked under his arm.

"Where do you want these boxes?" He asked as he stood near the doorway.

"You can just set them right there." Taylor said as she pointed to the floor by the door.

"I hear you're leaving soon." He said as he set the boxes down.

"Yeah, only a couple more days. We should have started packing a long time ago." Gabriella answered with a quiet giggle.

"Well, Gabriella, I'm still open for that date I asked you for."

"Date?" Gabriella questioned as she furrowed her brow.

"Yeah, the one that you so kindly rejected." He answered with a chuckle.

"Oh, that date. Well, sorry Dave, you'll just have to find a new girl when I leave." Gabriella answered.

"That might be hard." He said with a smile as he walked toward the door. "Alright, girls, have fun packing." He said as he shut the door with a final wave goodbye.

Gabriella looked up at the closed door and then back down to the papers on her desk. She felt like she was being watched and she slowly turned around to see Taylor watching her, intently. She squinted at her suspiciously and went back to her paper.

"What?" She asked when she still felt like she was being watched.

"I was just thinking." Taylor answered.

"Care to share?" Gabriella asked.

"I was just thinking about how you never told me about Dave asking you out." Taylor explained as she raised her eyebrow.

"I didn't think it was important, Tay." Gabriella answered.

"It might have been good for you is all I am saying." Taylor replied.

"Well, I'm sorry I didn't tell you about it, but I don't think it would have done much for me." Gabriella said as she tossed a few dirty rubber bands and a crumpled up piece of paper in the garbage can that was in the middle of the room.

"Next time you get asked out, tell me, okay?" Taylor asked with a small smile.

"I will, best friend." Gabriella said with a laugh as she looked at Taylor.

"Forever!" Taylor cheered as she threw an old shoe away.

The girls laughed together and continued to clean their dorms. By the time they were done cleaning, it looked like no one ever lived there. The desks and nightstands were dusted until they sparkled and the closet was reorganized and holding a few packed boxes. The beds were fixed and the floor was vacuumed, along with the rugs.

"If only we kept this room like this since we got here. We would have saved a lot of time looking for things." Monique said with a laugh.

"We're messy when we're put together, aren't we?" Gabriella asked as she fell onto her bed and starred up at the ceiling, sighing in exhaustion.

"Yeah…" Taylor said as she exhaled deeply, falling onto her own bed.

The girls sat in silence for a while listening to the passing people on the other side of the door. People were cheering as they went to a party and the girls heard a few shouts to the loud party-goers from people trying to study. Gabriella turned her head toward Taylor and spoke quietly, noticing that it was dark outside now.

"I'm going to miss it here." She said honestly.

Taylor smiled at Gabriella as she faced her and nodded.

"It's not going to be as bad as leaving home." Taylor answered.

"Yeah, maybe." Gabriella said quietly.

"Are you scared to go home?" Taylor asked.

"I'm expecting everything to be the same when we get home, but it's not going to be." She answered. "We lost our friends, Tay, maybe not completely. When we get back we're not going to share the same memories made in the last five years. We'll have our inside jokes and they'll have theirs. They'll have new people in their lives and we'll have… each other."

Taylor frowned at the truth in Gabriella's words as she thought about Chad and her other friends. That was definitely a harsh way to put it, but Gabriella was always telling things how they were even if everyone else didn't want to hear it. Taylor nodded in agreement.

"I know." She whispered slowly. "Can I ask you something?"

Gabriella sighed, knowing what was coming.

"Sure."

"Why did Troy break up with you?" She asked as she pulled her pillow closer to her so she could rest her head on it as she looked across the small room at Gabriella.

"He said it was too hard." Gabriella answered quietly as she played with a string that was on her comforter.

"I think you two, as a couple, have gone through things much worse than being a couple of states away from each other." Taylor commented.

"Things change, Tay." Gabriella answered with a sigh.

"No… people change." Taylor replied.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Gabriella asked.

"I think you've just become more independent since we left, is all. Maybe the fact that you're not with Troy was just because you don't need him anymore." Taylor explained with a shrug.

"Taylor." Gabriella said quietly.

"Yeah?"

"I've needed him for a long time." She answered in a whisper as a few tears slipped down her cheek.

"Why haven't you told him that, Gabs?" Taylor asked in a concerned voice.

"Because it's too late. I pushed him away… I left." Gabriella answered.

Taylor looked at her best friend from where she lay and nodded with a frown. The room was now silent and neither of the girls wanted to break that silence, knowing that they needed it to think about their past. Gabriella looked at her nightstand where a picture of her and her friends sat and she knew that going home was going to be good for her, even if it might not be the same as it was when she left.

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**Sorry that this was boring! Again, it's kind of just the start of the story, you know, when she's getting ready to go back… in the next chapter that's exactly where she will be! Review for the next chapter!**

**Much love,**

**unknownbyhim22**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey, everyone! I'm really sorry for taking an entire lifetime to get this up! I actually forgot I wrote this chapter and never put it up! Silly me. Well, I hope you like this chapter! Enjoy!**

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**Chapter three**

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Gabriella and Taylor were going home. They were leaving Yale and were on the plane, anxiously looking out the window as the land below became clearer and larger with every second. Taylor excitedly grabbed onto Gabriella's arm as the plane landed and they tried to quickly walk off of the plane, though the many people and luggage prevented them from getting out in the time they wanted. They inhaled the fresh air of Albuquerque as they stepped into the airport and they smiled at each other as they walked to collect their luggage. 

"So is your mom picking us up?" Taylor asked after they got their luggage and was walking toward the front of the airport.

"Yeah." Gabriella answered with a suspicious smile.

"What?" Taylor asked when she saw Gabriella's smile.

"Nothing… there's my mom." Gabriella said quickly, making Taylor look away from her.

"Yeah right, Gabs." Taylor said as she shook her head and looked where Gabriella was now pointing. "Oh my god…" 

"Surprise!" Gabriella said.

"Chad!" Taylor screeched as she let go of her luggage and ran toward Ms. Montez and Chad.

Gabriella laughed as she pulled Taylor's luggage with hers and she smiled as her mom gave her a long hug. Taylor almost knocked over Chad when she hugged him and he laughed as he hugged her tightly, occasionally picking her up and spinning her around in happiness. Gabriella smiled at them as she watched and her mom laughed quietly at the heartfelt moment. 

"I missed you so much." Taylor said as she looked at Chad, getting slightly teary eyed as she continued to hug him. 

"I missed you too, Tay." Chad said giving her a quick, mom-viewing-appropriate, kiss. 

After a minute of more hugging, Chad finally turned to Gabriella with a smile on his face. Gabriella giggled as she hugged him tightly as Taylor hugged Ms. Montez. She couldn't help but feel the small amount of sadness that was forming within her. She was thinking that maybe if things went differently years ago that she might have been hugging Troy in this moment rather than his best friend. She pulled away from the hug and smiled at Chad.

"I missed your hugs." She said honestly.

"I missed yours." Chad said with a laugh, hugging her quickly again. 

"Alright, kids, we should be getting back now." Ms. Montez said with a smile.

Gabriella, Taylor, and Chad laughed amongst their selves as they nodded. Ms. Montez laughed too, knowing that 'kids' was not exactly the word to describe them anymore. She looked at Gabriella, who was watching Chad and Taylor walk in front of her. They were holding hands, smiling at each other because they didn't know what to say to each other in this moment. 

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When Gabriella stepped into her house for the first time in what felt like forever she inhaled deeply and smiled as she set her luggage by the stairs. Everything felt the same and as she walked into her room she laughed quietly to herself because nothing, not even the shirt she threw on her chair before she left, was moved. 

Gabriella looked at her dresser and at the pictures that were on top of it. She smiled at the picture of her and her friends at graduation and then she sighed when she saw a picture of her and Troy next to it. They were both laughing in it and she slowly walked away from the dresser, toward her balcony doors, avoiding the memories that the picture brought back. She opened the balcony doors and the summer sun was warm against her skin as she stepped out onto the balcony. 

Her tree next to her balcony was swaying in the breeze and she leaned against the railing and looked at her neighborhood. She smiled as she saw her neighbors and the kids that she used to baby-sit who all were grownup now. The same old couple lived next door and they were sitting on their porch reading their newspaper. She smiled as she waved to them and they waved back, happy to see her back home. 

Gabriella turned around and stopped as she looked at her balcony doors from the outside. She couldn't help but remember the times when Troy would climb onto her balcony at night to see her. She sighed and went into her room, closing the doors behind her slowly.

"So, Doctor Montez, what would you like for dinner?" Ms. Montez asked as she appeared in Gabriella's doorway.

"Mom, I'm not a doctor yet. I still have to get a job." Gabriella said with a smile, liking the sound of Doctor Montez.

"You will. Don't worry about it." Ms. Montez said with a laugh. "I'll make meat loaf." She said as she turned into the hallway.

"Okay, I'll come help in a minute." 

"Okay, honey." Ms. Montez said as she walked toward the stairs.

Gabriella looked around her room for a minute and then went out into the hallway and walked towards her stairs to go to the kitchen. Her mom was already starting the meat loaf and she smiled when Gabriella walked in.

"So, isn't your high school reunion coming up?" Ms. Montez asked.

Gabriella sighed, yet again, and nodded her head as she started to set her kitchen table. She noticed, slowly, the goose bumps that were on her skin as she set a napkin down. She realized for the first time that going to her high school reunion meant going back to not only a place filled with great memories, but memories that weren't so good. Memories that were life shattering and ones that left certain scars that would stay for life. 

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**The High School reunion is next! Review if you want the next chapter! I'm hoping for 10 reviews!**

**Much love,**

**unknownbyhim22**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey Everyone! Well, here's the high school reunion! I hope you like it! I actually have writen chapters 5 and 6 so if you want those you HAVE to review, or I might just HAVE to wait a couple of weeks to post the next chapter! :) Enjoy! **

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**Chapter four**

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Gabriella was sitting in her front seat of her car in East High's parking lot, starring at the familiar school. She watched as people made their way into the school, people she recognized and some that she didn't. The sky was dark and the air was cool and calm as Gabriella stepped out of her car. She exhaled slowly, grabbed her purse, and made her way toward East High.

She smiled at Mr. Matsui who was at the front door and at Ms. Darbus who almost cried when she saw her. After a talk with Ms. Darbus about her college experience she walked toward the cafeteria. She laughed when she saw the pictures of everyone from years ago that were enlarged and scattered around the hallways. She opened the cafeteria doors and she scanned the room casually, smiling at a few people that waved to her. She almost squealed when she saw her group of friends sitting at a round table and as she came up to them, they all jumped out of their chairs to greet her.

"Gabi!" Zeke exclaimed as he hugged her tightly and spun her around.

Gabriella giggled as he continued to hold onto her and she smiled as she smelt the familiar scent of baked goods that always seemed to linger around Zeke.

"Zeke! I want to hug her now." Sharpay said with a laugh.

"I'm never letting her go." Zeke answered, holding her even tighter.

"I can't breathe, Zeke." Gabriella said with a laugh.

Troy opened the cafeteria doors after he walked through the hallways and had a long talk with Ms. Darbus. He walked in and stopped when he saw his friends and the familiar figure in Zeke's arms. He took a deep breath and made his way toward them, shaking a few old basketball teammates' hands as he walked by different tables.

Gabriella laughed again as Zeke's grasp slowly loosened on her and he set her down. He cleared his throat slightly and the group, other than Sharpay, became uneasily silent. Gabriella furrowed her brow and turned around to look where everyone was looking. She gasped, unnoticeably, and cleared her throat like Zeke had as she looked ahead.

"Hi, Troy." She said with a smile.

"Hey, Gabriella." Troy replied with a nod.

The group exchanged a quick glance and started to relax since the two seemed to be oddly okay with being around each other. Kelsi shot Sharpay a look as she started to speak.

"Gosh, I missed you so much, Gabi!" She said as she hugged Gabriella quickly.

"I missed you too!" She said with a smile, turning to Sharpay for the hug that she had been waiting for. Sharpay squealed in excitement and looked at her friend, seeing what had changed, though not much, about her.

"Don't forget to hug, Jason!" Jason said with a chuckle as he hugged Gabriella.

Chad smiled at Troy and patted him on the side of his arm as he shook his hand, even though he saw him yesterday, making Troy chuckle quietly.

The chuckle that escaped from Troy's lips made the hair on Gabriella's arms rise up and a sudden feeling of coldness fill her body. She gave Taylor an awkward smile as Taylor looked at her from across the circle of friends. The group sat down after a minute more of greeting each other and as small talk formed, the group started to feel more comfortable.

The table of friends was now cracking up as Taylor told them a story about Gabriella. Gabriella blushed as she shook her head at Taylor and put her hand to her forehead in embarrassment.

"… She was just lying in the middle of the hallway with grape juice all over her white lab coat!" Taylor finished with a high pitched cackle, sending the table in full on hysterics.

"It wasn't that bad!" Gabriella defended herself with a small laugh.

"Yes it was!" Taylor said continuing with her long laugh, she had tears in her eyes as she thought of the moment and laughed harder.

"That's ridiculous!" Jason said with a laugh, holding his stomach.

"I know!" Taylor nodded.

"And people were just stepping over her?" Sharpay asked, surprised that no one helped her up, as she twisted her wedding ring around her finger, carelessly. Zeke and Sharpay had been married for a year now and Gabriella smiled as she looked at the ring on Sharpay's finger.

"Until she tripped some guy and he had to help her up!" Taylor answered.

"Hey! That guy didn't have to help me! He wanted to!" Gabriella said with a laugh.

After the group settled down from their long laugh, Taylor and Gabriella were starting to get loaded with questions about what they had been up to all the way at Yale.

"How was the studying?" Kelsi asked her friends.

"It was definitely not easy. There were times when I would stop studying and Gabriella just sat at her desk and studied until morning." Taylor answered.

"Really?" Sharpay asked.

"It had to be done." Gabriella said with a shrug.

"Now that this studying is over with, what are you going to do?" Troy asked both of the girls.

"I'm looking for a pharmacist job close by. I already sent my applications out to a few places." Taylor answered, and then turned to look at Gabriella as she answered.

"I'm working at the Albuquerque hospital down the road. I'm pretty sure I'm starting next month." Gabriella said, getting proud smiles from her friends.

"So you're working with the blood and gore stuff?" Jason asked as he crinkled his nose.

"Yeah, I am." Gabriella said with a laugh.

"So you can work with anything from removing like a pole from someone's stomach to… pregnancies?" Sharpay asked as she looked at Gabriella.

Gabriella sensed that that question was meant to be taken in a different way and as she looked at Sharpay, she knew that she would definitely have to talk to her later, privately.

"Yeah. I can do it all." Gabriella said with a smile.

"Awesome." Chad said with a nod.

Everyone laughed as they looked at Chad and continued with their conversation, just how they always did before college, only now, Gabriella and Troy tried their hardest not to have long moments of eye contact.

Gabriella excused herself from the table after a couple of hours to go to the bathroom. She pushed the cafeteria doors open and walked into the hallway, making her way toward the bathroom.

She felt an eerie feeling and goose bumps slowly made their way to the surface of her skin. She stopped when she felt like something was really wrong and she looked to her right.

Her heart started to pound and her hands became clammy as she looked at the janitor's closet, the door was wide open and everything inside was visible. She tried to fight the memory that was coming back into her mind; she blinked quickly, trying to push it back into her 'to-never-remember-again' area of her brain, but it came, faster than she thought it would.

"_Well, well, well, missy. Are you trying to hide from me?"_ Gabriella could almost feel the weight of her arm being grasped by that sickening man and she shivered as more memories came back to her.

"_You're coming with us. Don't fight back or I'll kill him."_ Gabriella starred into the darkness of the closet and thought, or imagined, that she felt the warmness of the other man's breath on her neck, his hissing whispers close to her ear.

"_Gabriella!"_ She heard Troy's voice, shaking and screaming after her, echoing inside her head and she snapped out of her flashback when she heard her name being said.

"Gabriella?" She heard Troy say with concern in his voice.

Gabriella looked away from the closet and at Troy, who was standing behind her, with a questioning look on his face.

"I thought you were going to the bathroom?" He said as he looked at her.

"I am… I just kind of spaced out for a second. I'm fine though, so I guess I'll just be going now." She said with a nod as she pointed to the bathroom.

"Okay… are you sure you're okay?" Troy asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Gabriella nodded again and pushed the bathroom door open, glancing back at Troy quickly, he was standing in the same spot she saw him last in East High, only this time he was standing up and blood wasn't pouring out of his shoulder.

Troy stayed in his spot as he watched the door of the bathroom swing shut and block the sight of Gabriella. He knew that Gabriella really wasn't fine. He knew that look on her face as being nervous and unsure; the one he never liked seeing. He knew that she was remembering that terrible day at East High because he was remembering it too and that was exactly what made him leave the hallway as quickly as he could, going back into the cafeteria.

The previous East High students were slowly making their way out of East High and the group of friends was walking down the hallway when Chad shouted,

"What team?" He asked as he pumped his fist in the air.

"Wildcats!" The hallway of people shouted, along with the group of six.

"What team?"

"Wildcats!"

"Wildcats!" Chad shouted back.

"Get-cha head in the game!" Everyone shouted with smiles clear on their faces.

Mrs. Darbus clapped excitedly from the door way of East High and waved goodbye to her beloved family of students. The group split as they walked to their cars and as Gabriella buckled her seatbelt, she caught a glimpse of Troy and looked out of her side window.

Troy was sitting in the front seat of his car, his seat belt was now around him, and he was putting a silver CD into his stereo. The sound of quiet music floated toward Gabriella and she continued to watch him until he glanced up from his steering wheel and saw her looking at him. He smiled a smile that made Gabriella's heart flutter and he waved to her before he pulled out, paralyzing her to continue to look ahead of her.

She felt something in the pit of her stomach. It wasn't anything physical, but emotional. She was starting to feel something she hadn't felt since high school, feelings only felt when Troy was around. She tried once again to push this part of her past behind her, but she continued to feel this feeling as she pulled out of East High's parking lot. No, this feeling wasn't love or giddiness. It was fear, something she recognized like the back of her hand.

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**Like it? Review if you want to see the next chapter soon!**

**Much love,**

**unknownbyhim22**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey Everyone! I'm so glad that you are all liking this story so far! Review like you did last time and maybe you'll get another chapter this weekend! This chapter is only described by one word DRAMA! Enjoy!**

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**Chapter Five**

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A few days after the high school reunion, Gabriella decided she would try to organize her room and do some laundry

A few days after the high school reunion, Gabriella decided she would try to organize her room and do some laundry. Her room seemed so young to her, but she didn't want to change too much about it. She first went threw her drawers and everything in her room and then tackled her closet. She sat on the floor, tossing clothes into a black bag that would be given to a local charity. The sounds from outside swept into her room and she breathed deeply, taking in the crisp air.

Gabriella was removing jackets from her shelf, tossing them into different piles as she went through them when she came across Troy's old basketball sweater. She looked at it for a second, taking in the washed out look of it; the grey fabric was soft as she held it in her hand and without thinking, she slipped it over her body and put it on, remembering every moment when she used to wear it.

After she was done cleaning her room and everything was in order and dusted off, she lay on her bed and looked through a year book that she came across while she was cleaning. The red and white cover cracked as she opened the front page and bent it back to read the many messages and signatures on the inside. She smiled as she went through it and then flipped through the pages. She was still looking down at the year book when she heard someone clear their throat from the door way.

Gabriella looked up and smiled at her mom, who was now walking over to her.

"Bolton?" She asked with a raise of her eyebrows.

"Huh?" Gabriella asked in confusion.

"The back of your sweater has Bolton on it." Ms. Montez explained.

Gabriella looked behind her as she continued to stay lying down and she shrugged when she saw Troy's last name in bold, white letters.

"I'm doing laundry. This was available." She explained to her mom.

Ms. Montez nodded as she sat down on the side of her daughter's bed. She exhaled deeply, tired from her day at work and smiled at Gabriella.

"So, how _is_ Troy?" She asked.

She wanted to ask Gabriela that when she came home from the high school reunion the night of, but she had kept it to herself, not wanting to bring anything awkward up. She decided to ask now, picking up on the calmness that Gabriella was showing.

"He's fine." Gabriella said with a nod, shutting the year book.

"That's all?" Ms. Montez asked.

"We didn't really talk and I highly doubt we will, actually, so all I know is that he's fine." Gabriella answered, looking up at her mom.

"Gabs…" Ms. Montez started, but she was cut off when Gabriella interrupted her.

"I don't feel like talking about this right now. I'm kind of tired from all of the cleaning, so I think I should be going to bed soon." Gabriella said, sitting up.

"Alright, Gabs, but if you need anything, you know where to find me." She said as she stood up and walked toward the door.

"Okay." Gabriella said, nodding as she set the year book on her dresser.

She watched as the door closed and when she knew her mom was already heading down the stairs, she groaned in annoyance and feel back onto her bed. She closed her eyes as she thought and she turned on her side to curl up to go to sleep. Troy's sweater was hugging her as if he himself was there to put his arms around her and that made her want to toss the sweater on the floor, but she didn't as sleep slowly consumed her and a dream, or what she would call it, a nightmare started to play in her mind.

_Gabriella could hear the noise of some sort of game playing on a TV. She tiptoed out of the dark basement and slowly hid behind the couch when her kidnappers cheered at the static engulfed TV screen. Pizza boxes were_ _stacked high around the main room and she slowly crawled over toward the front door, until she knocked over the boxes, making both of the guys on the couch turn her way. She screamed when she heard a gun shot and then turned slowly, seeing a bullet hole in the side of the wall. She froze, knowing that the next gunshot wouldn't miss her. _

_She swallowed hard as one of the guys grabbed her by the arm and pulled her toward the basement, her feet were dragging on the floor, trying to make it difficult for him to get her any further and that's when he slammed her against the wall next to the basement door and punched her hard in the stomach, causing a gasp to escape quickly and as he opened the basement door all she remembered after that was the sharp edges and wood against her body as she feel down the stairs. _

Gabriella started to toss and turn as this image started to play in her mind. This wasn't a nightmare and she knew it. It was a flashback of what happened years ago, but as she started to sweat and breathe heavily, something different started to happen in the dream, something that didn't actually happen then.

_Gabriella opened her eyes from being knocked out from the impact of the stairs and saw Troy's crystal blue eyes looking down at her. She could feel his arms holding her and as she looked around, she saw the basement and the narrow stairs next to her. He looked down at her and wiped away the blood that was on her forehead. She winced in pain, but he only held her tightly and whispered to her._

_"You're going to be okay, Gabi. You're going to get out of here." He told her._

_"I can't move, Troy. I won't make it." She answered him as she became limper and heavier in his arms._

_"You'll make it as long as I don't." He said._

_Gabriella didn't understand what he was saying and then light poured into the basement from the door at the top of the stairs. She saw the men at the top of the stairs point their guns at Troy and the next thing she knew, Troy was shot, blood covering her shirt and Troy's body against her own. She screamed as the door shut again and pulled Troy closer to her, her strength now back and her bruises gone. _

_"Troy!" She screamed. "I need you back! I can't live without you!" She screamed as she started to sob._

_She heard his voice coming faintly from him and she quieted down._

_"We both can't stay. One of us has to go. It has to be me." He whispered before slipping away. _

_Gabriella screamed again and sobbed, closing her eyes. When she opened her eyes next, she was in her room, living her life normally, only the pictures of Troy on her dresser, gone. Memories of him faded and never made. He gave up himself for her and she didn't even remember…_

Gabriella sat up quickly as tears started to fall from her eyes. She looked at her dresser as she stood up and her heart pounded faster as she saw the pictures of her and Troy still there. She couldn't breathe as she made her way down the hallway and opened the door of her mom's bedroom. She walked over to the bed and sat down, waking up her mom with the sudden movement.

"Gabs, go back to sleep. You're not five anymore." She mumbled as she squeezed her eyes tighter together.

"Mom." Gabriella said, sternly, not being able to hide the sob.

Ms. Montez sat up quickly and her eyes widened as she looked at her daughter. Gabriella had black circles under her eyes and she was slightly pale.

"What happened?" Ms. Montez asked quickly, brushing Gabriella's hair out of her face.

"I had the dream!" Gabriella explained.

"What dream?" Ms. Montez asked as she tried to calm her down.

"Of the kidnapping and Troy…"

"But you haven't had that dream since it happened." Ms. Montez replied confused.

"I know." Gabriella said as she cried harder.

"Calm down." Ms. Montez whispered as she hugged her daughter, feeling the warning heat of Gabriella's back. "You need to take this sweater off. You're burning up. Do you feel okay?" Ms. Montez asked.

Gabriella shook her head, one because she didn't want to take the sweater off as she hugged it forcefully, and two because she didn't feel good anymore. Ms. Montez started to become worried as she gently pulled Gabriella up with her.

"You need to get some air." Ms. Montez said, taking her toward the stairs, but she felt Gabriella resist as she came closer to the stairs and she stopped, looking at her daughter.

"I hate that this happened." Gabriella said as she cried, avoiding the stairs.

"I know." Ms. Montez answered as she hugged Gabriella tightly, rocking her back and forth as she continued to cry.

Gabriella shook her head at the memory and wiped her tears as she looked at her mom. She breathed in deeply and her mom gave her a confused look.

"I have to think for a minute." Gabriella said her voice shaking as she glanced toward her room.

"Okay." Ms. Montez said with a nod. "I'll be right here if you need me. I'm going to make a phone call."

Gabriella nodded as she walked into her room, her back was still moving violently from her crying and a sharp pain from her lose of breathe filled her chest. She sat down on her bed and breathed slowly to regain air and started to think about the dream. She didn't know if the ending meant anything or if it was just another scary nightmare, but something in the pit of her stomach was telling her that she needed to do something about it. She thought back to what was said in the dream and a shiver ran down her back as she remembered it.

_"We both can't stay. One of us has to go. It has to be me." _She heard Troy's words in her head and her heart started to become heavy with sadness. Maybe Troy was going to leave like she had. Maybe she was the one who had to leave, but she knew that wasn't going to happen again. Troy never left. So what was stopping him from leaving? Now… absolutely nothing and that is what scared her the most.

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**Like it? Review! **

**In the next chapter Troy and Gabriella talk! But about what exactly? The nightmare? Their relationship? Life without each other? Plain tickets to give each other so they never have to see each other again? Potato chips? Review to find out!**

**Much love,**

**unknownbyhim22**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey! I've only gotten, I think, only three reviews for chapter five, but thanks to FeJoy29, you're getting this chapter now. Her review made me laugh so I'm returning the favor! If you want to see the next chapter soon, review for chapter 5 and 6! I've writen up to chapter 9, so I'm ready to update, you all just have to review! Enjoy!**

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**Chapter six**

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Gabriella woke up the next morning, curled up in a ball on her bed. She was sweating through her sweater and she made a disgusted face as she peeled it off and tossed it in her dirty clothes hamper, the air felt cold against her skin, which was barely covered by a blank tank top, as she walked into her bathroom. She jumped into the shower and tried to shake the images from last night out of her mind.

At the Bolton's house Mr. Bolton and Troy were in the kitchen cleaning up the breakfast dishes. The morning sun came through the window, making the kitchen bright and welcoming. Troy was at the pantry, putting away some boxes of food when Mrs. Bolton came into the kitchen with a long, tired sigh.

"Morning, Boys." She said with a smile as she kissed her husband on the cheek. She had slept in that morning because she was on the phone with Ms. Montez late that night.

"Who were you talking to last night on the phone?" Mr. Bolton asked his wife, noticing her tired eyes.

"Ah, Marie." Mrs. Bolton answered with a sigh.

Troy looked away from the pantry and toward his parents, hearing who his mom was talking to in the late hours of night. He went back to what he was doing, but continued to listen to his parents talk.

"Why was she calling you so late? Is everything okay?" Mr. Bolton asked, asking the questions Troy was thinking himself.

Mrs. Bolton glanced at Troy, silently, and then gave Mr. Bolton a should-I-talk-about-this-right-now look. Mr. Bolton shrugged and Mrs. Bolton answered, hesitantly.

"Gabriella had another one of her dreams." She said, noticing how Troy was now looking at them.

"Really?" Mr. Bolton asked, surprised. "She hasn't had one of hose dreams since the incident."

"I know…" Mrs. Bolton started, but was interrupted by Troy.

"Wait, what dreams?" Troy asked as he walked toward his parents and leaned against the island in the middle of the kitchen.

"Gabriella was having a lot of nightmares after what happened senior year and she must have had one last night." Mrs. Bolton answered.

"Well, why did Ms. Montez call you? I mean, they can't be that bad." Troy asked.

"Troy, honey… they're really bad." Mrs. Bolton explained.

"Why would she suddenly have one now?" Mr. Bolton asked as Troy thought.

"The memories must have come back when she went to the high school reunion and saw… Troy." Mrs. Bolton assumed.

Troy nodded slowly as he looked at his parents. He figured his mom was probably right. He himself vaguely remembered a dream he had last night that had something to do with senior year, but now he could barely remember it and he knew, from knowing her, that Gabriella was not even close to forgetting it.

"Um… I'm going to go for a run." Troy said with a nod as he turned to leave the kitchen to go to his room.

Mr. and Mrs. Bolton watched as their son left the kitchen and gave each other worried looks. They heard the front door close shortly after and the house filled with silence.

Gabriella walked down her stairs in shorts and a T-shirt, getting ready to go for a run. She waved to her mom, quickly, not wanting to go through her nightmare lecture that she always got when she had one of her nightmares. She started to run slowly down the street, but then she started running faster, wanting to run as far away as she could from the place that kept her memories bottled up inside.

Beads of sweat were forming on her skin as she ran faster down deserted roads and fields; her heart was pounding, feeling like it was going to burst, but she didn't care, she just kept running. She stopped when she came to a pond with a wooden bridge by it and sat down on the bridge, chucking a rock into the water to blur her reflection, when she sat down.

She closed her eyes tightly as she listened to the soft sway of the trees, but as she listened, she heard a pitter-patter sound coming from her right. She opened her eyes and glanced in the direction of the noise when she saw Troy. He had a grey T-shirt on and blue basketball shorts. She squinted as the sun shinned down on her and Troy slowly stopped as he saw her.

He stood there for a minute, catching his breath and looking at her, before he said something.

"Taking a jog?" He asked as he inhaled deeply.

"Yeah. I needed one." Gabriella nodded.

"Mind if I sit with you? I need a break." Troy said with a small smile.

"Sure." Gabriella said as she quickly patted the spot next to her.

Troy sat down next to her and he smiled softly as she watched him. They were quiet for a minute as they looked at the dark blue water.

"So, we didn't really get a chance to talk at the reunion." Gabriella pointed out as she placed one hand on either side of her, leaning back on them.

"It's impossible to get a word in with our friends around." Troy said with a laugh.

"That's definitely true." Gabriella agreed with a quiet laugh.

"So, are you still living at home?" Troy asked.

"Yeah. I can't exactly afford to live by myself just yet. It's going to take a while paying off medical school." Gabriella said with a smile.

"I can only imagine." Troy said with a smile. "I'm living at home too, but not because I have to, just because I'm not ready to do my own laundry." Troy joked.

Gabriella laughed quietly and shook her head at Troy.

"You still can't do laundry?" Gabriella asked.

"It's complicated. If I had it my way, I'd put all of my clothes together." Troy admitted.

"You'd have tie-dyed clothing." Gabriella laughed.

"Yeah, that's definitely not my color." Troy joked, once again.

"So, how was your college experience?" Gabriella asked.

"Probably not as exciting as yours." Troy said with a smile. "I actually got into sports therapy later on. I'll probably work with athletes to get them back on track once they get hurt." Troy explained.

"Really? So no professional athlete for you?" Gabriella asked.

Troy laughed softly with a nod.

"I kind of drifted from that." Troy explained.

"Well, that's good that you can help athletes. It's very doctor like." Gabriella said with a smile.

"Doctor Troy, here." Troy said with a smile.

"Sitting next to Doctor Montez." Gabriella laughed.

"We could save the world." Troy said with a laugh as he smiled at Gabriella.

They laughed for a minute and then were silent. Gabriella inhaled the crisp air and smiled, recognizing how it felt to be next to Troy. Troy listened as Gabriella inhaled and smiled to himself, loving the way it felt to be around her.

"How have you been away from school? You know, like just on a regular day." Troy asked.

Gabriella looked at him from her spot and he looked at her, looking away slowly from the intense eye contact.

"Are you trying to ask if I've been dating?" Gabriella asked with a smirk.

"Maybe." Troy said with a smile.

"Well, I haven't dated." Gabriella answered. "Doesn't mean I haven't been asked, though." Gabriella said, wanting to throw that in there just so Troy would know she could have dated if she wanted to.

Troy nodded and looked at her, noticing for the first time the dark circles under her eyes. He felt a guilty feeling wash through him, but he shook it off as he thought of why, just now, he noticed how tired Gabriella looked. Maybe because he never noticed before her flaws because he was always busy looking at what made her, her, and why he loved her, but now things were different, so he noticed it.

Gabriella noticed Troy carefully looking at her and she glanced away from him, but found her eyes drifting back towards him. Something was different about him, she thought. But what was it? She looked at him closely as he continued to look at her and she noticed it almost automatically. He was sad. He was tired. He was changed. He was so close, but so far away. He was officially pushed away.

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**Like it?! Review!**

**In the next chapter... Gabriella talks to Taylor about her nightmares.**

**Much love,**

**unknownbyhim22**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey Everyone! I've missed you all! I'm sorry I haven't updated soon like I said I would and I feel bad about it. School really takes VALUABE time out of my writing schedule! Well, I hope you like this chapter. Personally, I think it's just another boring one. Just some more talk, but I promise there is some fluff and fun stuff up ahead. If you want to see this story go anywhere in particular (other than having Troy and Gabriella together... I'm working on it!) feel free to tell me. I'd be happy to see what you want to see! Enjoy! **

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**Chapter Seven**

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Gabriella was driving to Taylor's house later that day and she was tapping her finger on her steering wheel as she listened to music

Gabriella was driving to Taylor's house later that day and she was tapping her finger on her steering wheel as she listened to music. Her window was open and a breeze blew against her, blowing her hair in all directions. She parked in the street in front of Taylor's house and locked her car before going to the front door and walking in without a knock. She walked up the stairs after being called after by Taylor and she went into Taylor's room where she was throwing things everywhere, trying to organize her room.

"Have you organized your room yet? This is impossible!" Taylor said.

"Yeah, I did." Gabriella laughed.

"How'd you do it already? We haven't even been home for that long!"

"I'm talented." Gabriella joked as she sat on Taylor's bed.

Taylor laughed quietly, but continued to do what she was doing and the girls both looked at the door when there was a knock. Chad was standing in the doorway with a box that appeared to be heavy, because he was panting like he had a hard time making it up the stairs.

"Here are those books you asked for." He said as he walked into her room.

Taylor stood up and tried to take the box, but Chad pulled it out of her reach.

"What do I get for doing this for you?" He asked with a mischievous smile.

Gabriella smiled and Taylor rolled her eyes, impatiently. She smiled though and leaned toward him, putting her hands on either side of the box, and giving him a soft kiss on the lips.

"Thank you." She said quietly.

"Anything for you." Chad said with a wink.

"I think I came at the wrong time." Gabriella said as she stood up from Taylor's bed. "I'll talk to you guys later." She laughed.

She made her way to the door and stopped when Chad stopped her.

"Are you okay today, Gabs?" Chad asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Gabriella answered as she furrowed her brow, slowly walking out of the room. She wondered why Chad asked that as she made her way to her car and she looked up at Taylor's window before she sat down in her car.

"Why'd you ask that?" Taylor asked Chad once Gabriella was clearly out of the house.

"She seems quieter than usual. Did something happen?" Chad asked.

"That question is kind of freaking me out, Chad. What do you mean?" Taylor asked as she set the box of books on the floor and looked at Chad seriously.

"I don't know. Maybe you should talk to her or something. I just feel like something's up." Chad said with a nod.

"Do you mind if I go now? I'm worried." Taylor asked.

"Yeah, go. Call me later." Chad said with a small smile.

"I will. Thanks for the books, Chad." Taylor said as she gave him a quick kiss and walked out of her room.

Gabriella was in her room again, reading a book as she sat on a light green chair by her balcony doors when she heard Taylor come into her room. She smiled at her and slowly frowned when she saw that Taylor looked worried.

"Hey, Tay. What are you doing here? I was with you like two minutes ago." Gabriella said.

"Chad said you were quieter than usual and that I should talk to you and now I'm worried." Taylor said quickly, slightly panicking.

"I'm fine." Gabriella said with a small smile as she looked back at her book.

"I know you well enough to know that you aren't. You just avoided eye contact with me." Taylor noticed as she sat on Gabriella's bed and faced her.

Gabriella slowly looked up from her book again and glanced at the door, making sure it was completely closed before they started a personal conversation.

"I had one of my nightmares." Gabriella admitted as she walked over to her bed and sat down next to Taylor as they looked out of the balcony window.

"Really?" Taylor asked in a whisper as she looked at Gabriella seriously.

"Yeah." Gabriella whispered back with a nod.

"How bad was it this time?" Taylor asked with concern clear in her voice.

Gabriella squeezed her eyes shut quickly and shook her head. She felt Taylor's hand over hers and she opened her eyes to look at her.

"I think this was the worst one yet." Gabriella answered.

"No." Taylor whispered in disbelief. "Why?"

"I don't know, Tay. It was so real. I could almost feel it and at the end Troy said that we both couldn't stay and that he had to be the one to leave and he was killed right after." Gabriella explained as tears filled his eyes.

"Don't worry, Gabs. It doesn't mean anything." Taylor said, giving her a quick hug.

"What if it does, Tay?" Gabriella asked. "What if we're both not meant to stay?"

Taylor's mouth dropped as she heard Gabriella's question and she shook her head in disagreement. No. It couldn't mean that. Could it? She thought. Gabriella looked at her shocked friend and nodded slowly. It was the first time since the nightmare that she said that question out loud and by the way the room became uncomfortably quiet, she had a feeling that her dream meant something. What she was going to do about it was still a mystery.

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**Thanks for reading! Review like you did last time and I'll be sure to update SOONER next time! **

**Much love,**

**unknownbyhim22**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey! I was extremely disappointed with the lack of reviews I got for chapter seven. I only got one and I know it was short, but it didn't make me want to update, but I'm going to now even though I don't want to. The fluff is here, ladies and gentlemen, so review if you want me to continue.**

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**Chapter eight**

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The girls needed a day to themselves and that is why they were all at the local mall, shopping and talking just how they used to

The girls needed a day to themselves and that is why they were all at the local mall, shopping and talking just how they used to. Sharpay, of course, lead the group to different stores that she knew they'd like. She said she made it her job while Gabriella and Taylor were at college to pick out stores that specifically fit their personalities and when Gabriella walked into 'her' store she knew Sharpay thought through it a lot.

There were jean walls all around the store, something Gabriella couldn't get enough of and then there were comfortable T-shirts and black knee length dresses of all sorts. Clothing that Gabriella personally loved. She smiled at Sharpay as they all shopped and Sharpay winked at her as she picked up a dress a little too skimpy for her taste.

"Sorry, but no." Gabriella said with a smile.

"I know someone who'd like it." Sharpay said in a sing song voice as she put it back on the rack.

"Funny, Shar." Gabriella said with a small smile.

"You know you want it." Sharpay said as she picked it up again and waved it in front of Gabriella.

"No I don't" Gabriella said with a laugh. "How about this one?" She asked as she held up another black dress.

"EW." Sharpay said quickly.

"It's not bad." Gabriella said as she swatted her friend.

"Not bad for a grandma-to-be." Sharpay admitted.

"Okay, maybe you're right." Gabriella laughed as she put it back.

"Always am." Sharpay joked as she tossed a dress to Kelsi to try on.

The girls shopped for a while longer and then they went out to lunch. They were sitting at a booth, each looking at the menu and the people around them were quietly talking with their friends and families. They set their menus behind the salt and pepper shakers after the waiter took their orders and then they started to talk.

"So, Gabs, I heard you had another one of your nightmares." Sharpay said being kicked by Taylor under the table.

Gabriella eyed Taylor and she shrugged quickly.

"I pried it out of her. She didn't want to tell me, but I knew something was up." Sharpay explained, defending Taylor.

"Yeah, I did." Gabriella said with a nod.

"You know, I bet it's because you saw Troy at the reunion." Kelsi said with a nod.

"Me too." Gabriella said with a sigh.

"Okay, girls, I don't think this is the best lunch conversation." Taylor said with a small smile, seeing the awkward look on her friend's face.

"Agreed." Sharpay said with a nod.

"So is anything exciting happening to any of you? I feel like I'm just bored lately." Kelsi said with a small laugh.

"No." Taylor and Gabriella said with a shake of their heads.

"I think I might be pregnant." Sharpay said with a laugh, uneasy about saying it.

"What?! Really?!" Kelsi and Taylor said together.

Gabriella smiled, expecting it.

"Yeah…" Sharpay said with a nod.

"Are you sure? How do you know?" Kelsi asked.

"I don't know for sure… but I can't eat Zeke's cookies. They make me sick." Sharpay answered.

"You're definitely pregnant!" Taylor said excitedly.

Sharpay smiled shyly and shrugged.

"You don't seem excited." Gabriella pointed out in a caring tone.

"I'm nervous." Sharpay answered. "I'm not cut out to be a mom." She explained.

"You don't know that, Shar. You haven't been a mom before, so you don't know yet." Gabriella said as she put her hand over her friends and gave her a reassuring smile.

"Yeah, you'd be a great mom, definitely if it's a girl. You'll know just what to do." Taylor added with a nod.

"And if it's a boy?" Sharpay asked with a raise of her eyebrow.

"You'd be just as good of a mom." Kelsi said with a nod, eyeing Taylor.

"What should I tell Zeke?" Sharpay asked her friends.

"Nothing yet." Gabriella answered, surely. "Not until you're one hundred percent sure."

"Okay." Sharpay said with a nod. "So…" She started, wanting to get the conversation away from her. "How are everyone's relationships going? Anyone expecting?" Sharpay laughed as she said the last part.

"No." The three other girls answered with a laugh.

"Seriously though. How's everyone?" Sharpay asked.

"Jason's the same. Still his silly self. Our relationship is still the same; carnival dates and basketball jerseys." Kelsi said with a laugh.

"He's so fun." Gabriella said with a smile.

"I know." Kelsi said with a dreamy sigh.

The girls giggled as they looked at Kelsi and Kelsi soon snapped out of her daydream. She smiled as she stirred her water with her straw, looking at her friends for relationship gossip.

"Chad's the same too. He's more romantic though, now that I think of it." Taylor answered.

"How's that?" Sharpay asked.

"I don't know. He does little things like I was almost asleep, the other day, and all of a sudden my phone started to ring and he called to say that he almost fell asleep, but he said he wouldn't be able to sleep through the night without telling me he loved me first." Taylor explained as a light shade of pink showed on her cheeks.

"That's so cute!" Kelsi said with a smile.

"I know!" She squealed quietly. "He also kisses me randomly, constantly!" Taylor added with a laugh.

The girls laughed and smiled and as they quieted down Taylor, Sharpay, and Kelsi slowly looked over at Gabriella and she was now sitting awkwardly in her seat, having no relationship to talk about. She smiled at her friends softly and shrugged sadly.

"Everyone can't have a perfect relationship all of the time." She said with a confident nod.

"You're right. Cheers to that." Sharpay said as she grabbed her water glass, giving Gabriella a comforting smile.

The girls stayed at the restaurant for another hour and they went their own ways after that.

Gabriella was in her room, studying from a book Taylor had lent her about medicine and she was angrily tapping her pencil on her desk. She couldn't memorize it. She couldn't remember what she was reading. The words were just being read and not absorbed and she didn't understand why. She always could remember something she read, but suddenly she couldn't.

She took a deep breath and grabbed her book, walking out to her balcony. She looked up at the dark sky and looked down at her book, barely able to read the content without squinting because it was dark outside. She sighed, but continued to try to memorize it.

What is wrong? She thought as she sighed again. So many things were running through her head at this moment. Was Sharpay pregnant? Why was she totally calm about it? Was Chad changed because he was going to ask Taylor an important, life changing question? No, she thought. Can't be. What was she going to do about her nightmare? What if she had another one? Why was she worrying so much? Why was Troy on her front porch with a box in his hand? Why did she care? Why did she have to go away to college five years ago? Why was she oblivious to the fact that TROY was on her porch?!

Gabriella stopped her pacing and looked up from her book. She inhaled deeply and furrowed her brow. That smell was so familiar. She closed her book and jumped from being startled by Troy standing on her front porch below her.

"Troy?" She whispered as she looked down from her balcony.

Troy turned to the side and looked up to see who was calling him. He smiled slightly when he saw Gabriella standing on her balcony, looking down at him with confusion in her eyes.

"Hey." Troy said with a smile.

"What are you doing here?" Gabriella asked.

"My mom got some books for you. Your mom said to drop them off, but it doesn't look like she's around." Troy explained.

"Why's that?" Gabriella asked, thinking her mom was still downstairs.

"Because I'm still on your front porch with a heavy box in my hands." Troy explained with a mocking smile.

"Right! I'll be there in a second!" Gabriella said as she left her balcony and made her way toward the front door.

Gabriella looked at herself in the mirror in the hallway, but then she cursed herself under breathe for doing something so stupid. She rolled her eyes at herself and opened the door where Troy was still politely standing. Troy gave her a thankful nod and stepped into the house.

"Where should I put these?" He asked gesturing toward the box.

"I guess you could take them in my room. That's where the rest of them are." Gabriella said with a shrug.

She closed the front door and walked toward her stairs, leading the way to her room. She casually looked behind her, pretending she wanted to make sure the front door was shut, but really, she looked at Troy. He was looking to the side of the stairs, trying his hardest _not_ to stare at Gabriella's back side. She smiled secretively and walked toward her room, opening the door for Troy.

"Where do you want them?" He asked her as he stood in the doorway, not wanting to go into her room without knowing where he was going.

"I guess you can put them by my chair. There's a stack of books there, you'll see them." Gabriella said, pointing to her chair by the balcony.

Troy nodded and walked toward the chair she pointed to.

"Doesn't look like you need anymore books." Troy said with a laugh as he set the box down next to the chair.

"I know, but I've read all of those so I need something new to read." Gabriella said with a sigh.

"That's crazy." Troy said as he looked at the pile of books on her floor.

He picked one up and flipped through the pages, furrowing his brow as he read the title.

"Rashes and Bumps?" He asked as he set the book down in disgusted.

"I have to know everything medically possible." Gabriella said with a nod, laughing quietly.

Troy nodded and looked out the balcony window. Gabriella looked out too from the spot she was standing at and she got a nervous feeling in the pit of her stomach as she saw that it was now raining outside. Troy sighed and zipped his jacket up further, knowing he'd have to walk home in the rain.

"You know… you can stay here for a little bit if you want. You shouldn't walk home in the rain." Gabriella said somewhat awkwardly.

"I don't want to bug you… you know… if you were studying or something." Troy said with a quick nod.

"It's okay. I couldn't concentrate." Gabriella answered.

"Are you sure? I can run." Troy said.

"I'm sure… unless you don't want to stay… I'm perfectly okay with that too." Gabriella replied.

"No, it's okay… I do, I'll stay." Troy said with a nod.

"Okay. You can sit down if you want." Gabriella suggested as she pointed to the green chair next to the books.

Troy nodded and sat down in the chair, letting out a long sigh. Gabriella sat on her bed and nodded to herself awkwardly and slowly. She taped her finger on her knee and glanced at Troy, who was watching her quietly.

"So…" Gabriella started.

"So…" Troy repeated with a nod.

"How are you?" Gabriella asked.

"I'm good. I got a job." Troy said with a small smile.

"Really? Where at?" Gabriella asked with a smile.

"Albuquerque Hospital in the athletic therapy wing." He answered.

"Maybe I'll see you there." Gabriella said with a small laugh.

"Maybe." Troy said with a smile.

"Are you excited?" Gabriella asked.

"About the job… yeah." Troy answered with a nod. "What about you? Are you excited to be starting soon?"

"I'm anxious. I can't sit still for much longer." She answered with a laugh.

"You're also running out of books to read in the mean time." Troy said with a laugh.

"That's very true." Gabriella agreed. "I can always borrow some from Taylor, though."

"Don't ask me to bring them over here. They're heavy." Troy said with a smile.

"Chad didn't think so when he brought Taylor hers." Gabriella teased.

"I bet." Troy said with a laugh, knowing Chad would do or say anything to make Taylor happy.

"So, how are your mom and dad? I haven't gotten the chance to go see them." Gabriella asked. "Or the courage." She thought.

"They're fine. They've just been doing the same old, I guess." Troy answered.

"That's good." Gabriella replied.

"Yeah…" Troy said with a nod.

They were quiet for a minute, just listening to the awkward silence that was now lingering in the air around them. They glanced at each other occasionally as they looked out at the rain pouring down from the sky outside.

Gabriella lay on her stomach when she got tired of sitting and she continued to face the balcony doors. She looked at Troy and he smiled at her, not looking outside anymore.

"Did you get a hair cut?" Gabriella asked feeling like something was different about him.

Troy laughed quietly as he answered her.

"No." He smiled.

"New cologne?" Gabriella asked.

"No." Troy shook his head.

"Diet?"

Troy laughed out loud and shook his head.

"Did you change something?" Gabriella asked starting to get really bugged by the fact that she couldn't put her finger on what was different about him.

"Not that I know of." Troy answered with a smile. "Why do you ask?"

"Something feels different. Don't you feel it?" Gabriella asked, inhaling the air, just in case that was what was different, the flow and feel of the air.

"Yeah, I feel it." Troy answered with a nod.

He said it seriously though and as Gabriella opened her eyes from her intense sniff of the air, she saw the way he was looking at her. In a way that was saying "Yeah, you're the different one." And she slowly looked back at him, directly in the eyes. She rolled her shoulders back and studied him and what she was seeing was definitely something she could remember.

He had blame in his eyes, hurt, and awkwardness, yet love, and compassion. Gabriella was certainly confused and seeing Troy was just making her come up with more questions, but she still knew she would remember what she was seeing. Who could forget the look of a goodbye?

**Trust me, we don't have to say goodbye to the fluff! That was only part one of it. We'll find out what's different about them. **

**Much love,**

**unknownbyhim22**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey everyone. I would have waited longer to update this since no one reviewed, but thanks to misyB and an anonymous reviewer you're getting this chapter. Thanks to those who are reading and reviewing, but the next chapter is going to come out a lot later if no one reviews. Sorry that I'm being mean. : ( Enjoy this chapter! It's my favorite one...**

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**Chapter nine**

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Gabriella didn't remember the last thing she and Troy talked about as she drifted into a light sleep, still being able to feel Troy's presence and hear the rain against the house. Troy watched Gabriella as her back moved slowly with each breath she took and soon he too fell asleep.

Ms. Montez had purposely left the house in time for Troy to come over. She went to his house to talk to his mom while he went to hers to drop the books off for Gabriella. She figured as time passed that he must have waited at the house because of the rain.

She quietly walked up to Gabriella's room after hearing no response when she called her. She stopped in Gabriella's doorway with a smile on her face when she saw that Troy was sleeping in Gabriella's green chair and Gabriella was sleeping on her bed, her body faced toward Troy like she had fallen asleep talking to him.

Ms. Montez carefully closed Gabriella's bedroom door and went to call Ms. Bolton to update her on her recent discovery.

Gabriella was sleeping peacefully until she started to dream. She shifted in her sleep and as she groaned in annoyance, Troy slowly stirred awake and looked at her. He saw the uneasy look on Gabriella's face and as he watched her, he knew she was having a nightmare.

_Gabriella shivered as she felt the ground and wall behind her become damp with the water from the leaking window above her. The basement was cold and the wall behind her scrapped her arms as she shifted in her spot. She could hear the TV being watched upstairs and a small line of light came from underneath the door, but other than that it was completely dark so when she felt someone touch her arm, she jumped instantly and her scream was never heard as a hand covered her mouth._

_"Shh… Gabi, it's me." She heard in her ear._

_"Troy?" She whispered in confusion._

_"I'm going to get you out of here." He whispered._

_"You can't. There's no way out." She whispered back. _

_"Just take the stairs." He suggested._

_"I can't just waltz up the stairs, Troy." Gabriella whispered._

_Troy took her hand and pulled her up from her spot on the floor and walked her toward the stairs. She shook her head as he motioned toward the door._

_"They'll see me." Gabriella said._

_"Do you trust me?" Troy asked her._

_"Yes." Gabriella answered._

_"Then go up the stairs and walk straight to the front door and leave." Troy instructed._

_"What about you?" Gabriella asked._

_"I'm not the one who has to leave." Troy answered._

_"I can't leave you." Gabriella said but a force stronger than her was pulling her toward the door. She was leaving and Troy's figure became smaller as she was pulled away. _

_"Troy, wait! I can't leave you." She said again before the basement door was slammed shut and she gasped when she saw her kidnappers. _

_They locked the door of the basement and they pointed to the front door that was already opened. Gabriella shook her head at the men, but again, she was being pulled away. She felt the tears escaping her eyes as she was taken away from the basement. The front door closed and locked behind her and she fell to the ground as she cried. She pounded on the door, but she couldn't open it and she heard Troy's voice again, close to her ear, but he was no where to be seen._

_"I'm not the one who has to leave." She heard and as his voice echoed in her head, she backed away from the house and ran as far as she could away from it, away from her old life, her own house. She passed it all because it was true… she was the one who had to leave, not Troy._

Troy was starting to worry as she watched Gabriella and he slowly walked over toward her and sat down on her bed. He didn't want to wake her up and scare her, so he just stayed next to her and watched her.

Gabriella tossed and turned, trying to get away from her nightmare, from yet another question added to her list. She sat up quickly and shook her head in anger.

"I can't leave." She said out loud.

She gasped when she felt a hand on her arm and she looked up into Troy's blue eyes. She breathed deeply, feeling her heart beat quicken and she squinted her eyes to keep her tears from falling.

"Are you okay?" Troy asked her.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'll be fine, yeah." She said quickly.

"Did you have a nightmare?" Troy asked.

"Yeah, it's okay though." Gabriella answered as she forced a small smile to appear on her face. "Is it still raining?" Gabriella asked as she looked toward her balcony door so she could avoid eye contact with Troy for a minute.

"Yeah, it is." Troy said with a nod.

"Are you leaving?" Gabriella asked quietly.

"Do you want me to?" Troy asked as he looked at her.

Gabriella looked up at him and shrugged. He looked at her intently and saw the fear in her eyes as she waited for his direct answered.

"No… I won't leave just yet." He whispered.

"Okay." Gabriella said with a nod.

She sighed deeply and ran her hand through her hair to move it out of her face. She glanced at Troy again and he was watching her as she sat there thinking. Gabriella smiled at him slowly and he smiled too as he stood up and walked back toward the green chair by the balcony doors. She stayed sitting in the same spot until he sat down and she crawled over to the top of her bed and lay down with a sigh.

She tried to forget about her nightmare, repeating the words to her favorite song in her head, but it wasn't working. She turned and faced her back toward her door, but lying that way meant being able to see Troy and that wasn't making her feel any better.

Gabriella shook her head, thinking that she'd never be able to fall asleep. She squeezed her eyes shut tightly and took a deep breath as she turned away from Troy. She relaxed slightly and as she debated whether or not to just get up and start her day ten hours earlier, she felt the side of her bed go down and she turned her head and opened her eyes.

Troy lay down next to her and he got comfortable, placing his arms on his chest, keeping a space in between himself and Gabriella. Gabriella tilted her head to the side, laying it on her pillow and looked at Troy. Troy looked at her too and down at the space in between them, then back up at Gabriella.

"So, is this what's different?" Troy asked her.

"What?" Gabriella asked, not knowing what he thought was different.

"The space in between us?" He asked.

Gabriella looked next to her and surely enough, a clear space was in between them. Their arms weren't even close to touching and she felt her eyes become teary eyed as she nodded slowly.

"I guess it is." She whispered.

"Different isn't always good." Troy whispered to her.

"It's hard to fix different, though." Gabriella answered as she looked up at him.

"We could probably figure it out." Troy replied.

Gabriella looked at him intently and he looked into her eyes, knowing how to fix this difference. He scouted closer to her and he looked at her, seeing if she'd scout the rest of the way and she did.

There wasn't a space between them anymore and Troy brought his arm around her and she set her head on his chest and sighed peacefully as she felt how her body fit with his, just like it always had. Troy set his chin against her head and inhaled her scent as he closed his eyes. They weren't forgiving each other, no, they were just fixing what was different, they were filling the space that slowly started five years ago when Gabriella left, when Troy was pushed away.

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**Review for the next chapter! In the next chapter... we find out what's up with Sharpay.**

**Much love,**

**unknownbyhim22**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey everyone! Thanks for coming back and reviewing! I realy appreciate it! This chapter is dedicated to zacvanessaxxx for being such a great reviewer! I hope you like it! Enjoy!**

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**Chapter ten**

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She got the phone call at eight in the morning a few days later, the one from Sharpay, sniffling frequently as she tried to ask Gabriella to come over to her place to talk to her. Zeke was at a baking show and so she was home alone, needing someone to talk to.

Gabriella was in her car within minutes, her hair pulled into a messy bun and an oversized sweater on. She ignored the fact that her radio was fuzzy and there was a brown and green spot on her windshield where she could see a tiny antenna coming from the grape-sized splatter. She stepped on her gas peddle and her car jerked forward as it sped up and she came to a screeching halt in Sharpay's drive way, slamming her car door shut and barging into Sharpay's house.

She didn't know what was wrong, but she knew that Sharpay was the last person to call her, or anyone for that matter, for help. She followed the sound of a TV, climbing up Sharpay's stairs, and she stopped when she saw Sharpay sitting on her bedroom floor, her knees pulled against her chest, her remote control for the TV held tightly in her hand. Gabriella walked over to her slowly and sat down, moving the box of chocolate that was next to Sharpay, to the side.

"Hey. Is everything okay?" She asked with a weak smile.

"I'm just sort of sad." Sharpay admitted. "You're the only one I could think of to call because I knew you'd understand."

Gabriella pulled her knees toward her chest, matching Sharpay's position and looked at her comfortably.

"Do you want to tell me why you're sad so maybe I could understand?" Gabriella asked quietly.

"I'm not pregnant." Sharpay whispered as she looked out her bedroom window, avoiding eye contact with Gabriella. "I went to the doctor's this morning."

Gabriella's heart sank slightly and she put an arm around her friend and brought her closer to herself. She sighed deeply and rubbed Sharpay's arm supportively.

"I'm sorry, Shar." Gabriella said softly.

"Me too." Sharpay admitted. "I didn't think I wanted it so much."

"I know." Gabriella answered with a nod.

"I bought it an outfit." Sharpay admitted as she pulled a box from underneath her bed.

Gabriella glanced at Sharpay quickly as she slowly removed the lid from the white box. She smiled softly as she picked up at pink one-zy and a pair of pink flowery slippers.

"They're pink." Gabriella whispered as she held the soft fabric between her fingers.

"I really wanted a girl." Sharpay said as a small tear ran down her cheek. "Now I have to return them." She said as she reached for the outfit in Gabriella's hand.

Gabriella pulled them back and shook her head as she looked up at Sharpay with a small smile.

"No, Shar. You can just save them for next time." Gabriella said as she handed Sharpay the outfit, watching as Sharpay ran her manicured pointer finger over the fabric.

"Okay." She whispered softly as she set the outfit back in the box, placing the lid over the box, and sliding it back underneath her bed. "For next time." She agreed with a nod.

"Because there will be a next time." Gabriella reassured her.

Sharpay smiled softly and nodded as she turned her attention back to the TV.

"There will be." She said almost like she was telling herself that just to encourage the idea, the possibility.

Gabriella smiled softly and turned her attention to the TV that Sharpay was watching. Her breath caught in her throat and she tried to play it off like she was only breathing deeply to cough, but Sharpay noticed it.

"I'm sorry. I can turn it off if you want me to." Sharpay said as she looked at the TV screen quickly and over to Gabriella.

"No, it's okay. I haven't seen this one in a really long time." Gabriella said with a smile, nodding to Sharpay to say that she was okay with it.

Sharpay smiled at Gabriella and hugged her quickly before turning her attention back over to the screen that was filled with moments made with each other years ago. Gabriella watched as the camera filming the excitement zoomed into the doorway of Troy's house and she smiled when she saw her surprised face on the screen.

She was watching the home video, taped by her mom and copied by Mrs. Bolton for all of her friends, of her graduation. The one held specially in Troy's backyard, her friends happily cheering and greeting her as she came into the backyard.

She smiled as Sharpay handed her a container filled with some of Zeke's cookies and she picked a chocolate cookie out of it and took a bit of it as she continued to watch the changing TV screen.

She smiled when she saw Taylor cracking up as the scene changed slowly. Chad was shaking his head as pie dripped from his dark skin and as he picked out frosting from his curly hair. He eyed Taylor and started to chase her around, threatening that she'd be the next with pie all over her.

Ryan was singing with Martha in the next shot. They were laughing at the same time and rocking back and forth, in the background Kelsi and Jason were dancing along. Gabriella laughed out loud as she watched her happy friends and then her laugh slowly faded as her own face slowly appeared on the next screen.

"So Gabi, what are you looking most forward to this summer?" A voice was heard from behind the camera, a voice that sent chills down Gabriella's spin.

Gabriella shifted in her spot as she watched herself laugh. She knew when this was filmed. It was a few days before she got the acceptance letters to Yale. She blinked a few times to calm herself down when she saw the fading bruise on her forehead.

"I love this girl." Troy said as he turned the camera to show himself after Gabriella had answered his last question.

In the scene, Gabriella appeared at his side to be seen in the camera and kissed him lightly on his cheek. Troy smiled and she giggled quietly as she said something else.

"I love this boy." She giggled and with that, the screen went black.

Gabriella blinked a few more times as she held her knees to her chest and she soon noticed that Sharpay was watching her, the sound of the buzzing of the TV screen was all that was heard.

"Uhhh… I think it's time for me to go home." Gabriella said quietly as she stood up.

"O-okay." Sharpay said with a nod as she stood up too. "Thanks for coming over."

"I'm glad I could help. Call me if you need me, Shar. You should get out of the house for a while… shop or something." Gabriella suggested.

"I'll do that." Sharpay said with a smile making Gabriella laugh quietly.

Gabriella drove slowly home, watching as the serene lawns of her neighbors passed her. She could barely hear the sound of a song on the radio playing and as she stopped in her driveway and turned the car off completely she looked ahead of her, feeling a sudden sadness rise within her.

She blinked as she listened to nothing but the soundless space of her car and as she thought of her morning, she suddenly started to cry. She put her face in her hands and shook her head for being so stupid for crying like this at a time so randomly. As she thought though, she knew she was crying for Sharpay, for the people her friends once were in the videos.

Her shoulders were shaking and as the silence mixed with nothing but her sobs started to ring in her ears, she heard a knock on her car window. She gasped and looked up, wiping her tears away in one swift movement. She slowly unlocked her car and stepped out of it, looking up at her visitor.

"Bad morning?" Her visitor asked.

"Sad song." She nodded slowly as she gestured to the car radio.

"Do you want to go on a walk with me? I came to ask." He asked with a wryly smile.

"I'd like that." She said with a smile and with that he nodded and turned to walk down the driveway, waiting as she got next to him before he started to go.

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**Like it? Wondering who the "Visitor" is? Think you already know? I bet you do! What do you think will happen? Review for the next chapter!**

**Much love,**

**unknownbyhim22**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hey! Here's the next chapter! Thanks for reviewing everyone! **

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**Chapter eleven**

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Gabriella looked up at the bright sky as she walked, feeling the dryness of her cheeks from her recent episode of tears. She listened as her footsteps matched with her visitors' and she slowly turned her head to the side to look up at him, glancing away as he looked at her, too.

"Is your morning getting better?" He asked with a small smile.

"Slowly." Gabriella replied with a small laugh.

"Care to share what those tears were about?" He asked as he looked down at his feet as they continued to walk.

"It's a long list. I wouldn't want to bore you, Troy." Gabriella answered politely with a nod.

"You wouldn't, but I understand if you don't want to talk about it with me." He said as he looked toward her, watching as she took a deep breath.

They walked silently, each taking in each other's presence as they thought of nothing but their morning activities. As a soft wind blew and the sun beat down on them, they made their way around the park, towards the pond that they had sat at together a few days back. Gabriella was the first to sit down once they got to the bridge and as Troy bent down to sit, his cheek lightly brushed up against her shoulder. He sat down awkwardly and scratched his neck as he looked out at the water.

"It's nice out here, isn't it?" Troy asked as he squinted out the sun.

"It's so quiet; almost like there's nothing to bother us here." Gabriella said with a nod as she stretched her legs out in front of her and then slowly let them sway underneath her, brushing the top of the water just barely with her foot.

"That's because nothing can… as long as you don't let it." Troy replied with as he looked to his side to watch Gabriella.

"I wish I could believe there was a place where nothing could bother me. Even if just for a minute, but no matter where I am, I'll think of something that bothered me before I got to that place." She said quietly, watching as a dragonfly swirled around her ankle.

"Close your eyes. That's what always helps me." Troy said with a small chuckle.

Gabriella looked at him and slowly closed her eyes, letting his image disappear from behind her eyelids. She breathed in deeply and tried to forget about Sharpay's unfortunate news, about her past tragedies and worries, but as she tried to focus on the good things she only realized that those things were limited and that it would be a waste to keep her eyes closed.

Troy was looking at her intently as she opened her eyes and he smiled at her softly, waiting to see what she would say.

"Did it help?" Troy asked.

"No." Gabriella whispered with a slow shake of her head. "I wish it did, though."

"Me too." Troy whispered as he turned back to the pond.

"Can I ask you something?" Gabriella asked after a few minutes of silence between the two.

"Sure." Troy said with a nod.

"Have you ever blamed yourself for the outcome of someone else's life?" She asked quietly.

Troy stared out into the waters in front of him and set his elbows against his knees as he thought about her question.

"Yeah." Troy whispered sadly. "Everyday."

"You know, sometimes I think that I shouldn't have even come back here." Gabriella admitted. "I feel like I'm ruining everyone's life around me."

"How can you say that?" Troy whispered as he turned his head to look at her.

"It's true." Gabriella said quietly. "I've created this idea that everything is just going to be okay; that eventually people will forgive me, but then I see all the bad stuff and realize that what I want is just some kind of fairytale."

"People were never mad at you." Troy explained.

"I was mad at me, Troy." Gabriella answered curtly.

"What if you never came back, Gabriella?" Troy started. "Taylor would have been miserable without her best friend around and your mom would probably have gone insane."

"And you?" Gabriella asked.

Troy looked at Gabriella intently, watching as her long dark eyelashes blinked quickly over her warm eyes. He brought his hand toward her face and moved a piece of hair away from her eyes.

"I don't know, Gabi. I really don't know."

Gabriella opened her mouth to reply, but Troy was already standing up, ready to go.

"Come on, we have a long walk home." He said as he put his hand out to help her up.

Gabriella took his hand and breathed deeply as she walked next to him, inhaling the air that now smelt so greatly of Troy; the boy who made her a little less mad at herself and helped her find a place that could push all of her worries away for just one millisecond.

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Gabriella didn't exactly plan on getting ambushed by Mr. and Mrs. Bolton after she and Troy got back into the neighborhood. She thought she'd go home, take a hot shower, and spend some time reading about a new cure for something, for someone. She was now sitting on the couch of the Bolton's family room, laughing as Mr. Bolton talked energetically while Mrs. Bolton cooked in the kitchen.

She glanced at Troy as she nodded to Mr. Bolton and he gave her an apologetic look from his spot in the chair placed next to his dad. Gabriella laughed once again as Mr. Bolton continued to talk and she smiled when Mrs. Bolton saved her and called her into the kitchen.

"So, Gabriella," Mrs. Bolton started once they were both settled at the counter by the sink, peeling potatoes. "Are you excited to be back?"

"Excited and sad all at the same time." Gabriella admitted.

"Sad, huh? That's a surprise." Mrs. Bolton said with a raise of her right eyebrow.

"Yeah, well, It's hard coming back to change. You know, I remembered Albuquerque in a certain way and that way kind of changed when I came back… not for the bad… it just… changed." Gabriella answered with a shrug, not really knowing how to put her feelings into words.

Mrs. Bolton smiled to herself as Gabriella shifted in her spot as she continued to peel potatoes. Mrs. Bolton cleared her throat and wiped her bangs off of her forehead with her arm.

"You know, when I came back from college when I was your age, I thought I knew how I wanted to spend the rest of my life when I got back home." Mrs. Bolton stated with a smile, remembering back to her college days.

"What did you want to do?" Gabriella asked curiously.

"I wanted to travel the world and live in all the places that people only could dream about. I had the money and I never thought I'd do anything else… I definitely didn't think I'd be here in Albuquerque, New Mexico." Mrs. Bolton said with a small laugh.

"What made you change your mind?" Gabriella asked.

Mrs. Bolton smiled and her eyes gleamed with the old memories.

"His name was Benjamin." Mrs. Bolton laughed.

"Benjamin?" Gabriella questioned.

"I fell in love with him… or at least I thought I had. He was a good man, handsome and smart about all the right things. Every girls dream." Mrs. Bolton said.

"Then what happened?"

"He wasn't there when I came back from college. He didn't want to wait for me any longer and said it was for the best. 'That we had a good time before college at least.'" Mrs. Bolton shook her head at the thought, but smiled anyway. "I didn't like the fact that he had to be traveling all the time and I told myself I didn't want to end up like that."

"Wow." Gabriella whispered.

"There _is _a happy ending to that story though." Mrs. Bolton added.

"Yeah?"

She nodded and continued, gesturing toward the living room.

"Those boys in there are the best things that have ever happened to me. It was worth the change of plans and the wholeness of my heart." Mrs. Bolton concluded.

"Were you ever mad?" Gabriella asked.

"About being left? Of course, but after a while I realized that he left because he wasn't _meant_ to stay."

Gabriella's heart thudded at Mrs. Bolton's statement and she looked up at her and smiled sincerely.

"Can I just say one more thing?" Mrs. Bolton asked.

"I'd love that." Gabriella nodded.

She took Gabriella's hand in hers and smiled.

"Leaving doesn't mean you don't love the person you have to leave behind. It may just mean that you need to take that path to bring you back to that person in the long run."

Gabriella smiled and nodded slowly, feeling a tear slid down her cheek. Mrs. Bolton wiped Gabriella's tear away and embraced her in a warm hug.

"You came back, Gabriella, and Troy stayed." She whispered softly getting a subtle nod from Gabriella. "That has to mean something."

After another minute of hugging, they separated and smiled at each other. Gabriella took a deep breath and collected herself quickly.

"If you don't mind, I think it would be a good time to head home. I have a lot of thinking to do." Gabriella stated.

"What are you still doing here?" Mrs. Bolton said with a laugh, swatting her with a dishtowel, shooing her out of the kitchen.

Gabriella laughed as she walked into family room and stopped in the doorway.

"Alright, I'm heading home." She said with a smile.

"Already? You're not staying for dinner?" Mr. Bolton asked.

"I'd love to, but I have some work to get done." She replied with a nod.

"Okay, but come back soon." Mr. Bolton demanded.

"I will." Gabriella laughed. "See you later Mr. Bolton. Troy."

"Talk to you later, Gabriella." Troy said with a wave from his seat.

She smiled and left through the front door. She stopped on the front lawn and turned around to look at the large house. She inhaled deeply and took in the image, memorizing the details. She stopped herself though, knowing that there was no point in memorizing the look of the house. She would be back. She would be.

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**Like it? Review! **

**The next chapter... What didn't Troy do during college? You'll find out along with Gabriella! Will it be good or bad? And why is Gabriella just finding this out??**

**Much love,**

**unknownbyhim22**


	12. Chapter 12

**Wow! I'm finally back everyone! I just presented my English project and am DONE! It feels great to be back! I wrote three chapters so I can update fast, so all you have to do it review! Enjoy!**

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**Chapter twelve**

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Troy was in his backyard, shooting hoops in the darkness of the night. It was past midnight, but he was still outside, remembering how good playing basketball felt. He turned towards the backyard gate when he heard it swing open gently. He smiled tiredly when he saw Gabriella walking in, closing the gate behind her.

"What are you doing here at this time?" Troy asked when she got closer.

"I could hear your basketball through my bedroom window. I'm surprised the neighbors haven't called with complaints by now." Gabriella answered as she took in Troy's appearance. She couldn't help but notice his bare chest under his zip up hoodie.

"Really?" Troy asked with a laugh.

Gabriella shrugged.

"No. I had a nightmare and was going on a walk when I noticed you back here." Gabriella admitted.

Troy nodded and bounced the basketball a few times. Gabriella walked over to the side of the court and watched as Troy continued to shoot baskets. She tilted her head to the side, noticing that something was different about the way he played basketball.

"You're not as good as you were in high school." Gabriella noted.

Troy laughed and nodded as he missed a basket, walking towards it to collect it.

"Why didn't you play in college?" She asked.

Troy shrugged and the bouncing of the basketball slowed as he watched it move up and down.

"I wasn't really into it anymore." He admitted.

"Nah, that can't be the reason." Gabriella said.

Troy scratched the back of his neck and held the basketball under his arm.

"My arm… um… wasn't as good." Troy said slowly.

"Your arm?" Gabriella repeated.

Troy nodded. Gabriella breathed deeply and walked up to Troy. She looked into his eyes before gently moving his sweater away from his shoulder, revealing his thick scare. She quickly closed her eyes and lifted her hand away from Troy.

"Is that why you want to be in sports therapy? So athletes can recover from things like that?" Gabriella asked as she kept her eyes closed. "So they don't have to stop living their dream?"

"Yeah." Troy whispered sadly.

"Do you hate me?" She whispered so softly that Troy barely heard it.

Troy paused and looked down at Gabriella as she kept her eyes closed, her head down.

"You didn't do this to my arm, Gabriella." Troy said quietly.

Gabriella shook her head and turned to leave, feeling tears sliding down her face.

"Gabriella, stop." Troy said quickly.

Gabriella shook her head once again and continued to walk away, feeling Troy's eyes on her. She couldn't believe that Troy never even got the chance to play college basketball. It was her fault that Troy couldn't play, or at least that is what she kept telling herself. If she never tutored Troy in senior year, he wouldn't have been done with his test early on that horrible day, and he wouldn't have been shot for being in the hallway to help Gabriella. She ruined his future. She was at fault for this and she, Gabriella Montez, hated herself for everything.

Gabriella ran the rest of the way home once her house came into view. She held her tears in until she shut her bedroom door, and when she finally caught her breath she slowly sank to the floor, sliding against her door. She grabbed her phone from her sweater pocket and pressed speed dial number two: Sharpay.

Gabriella waited while the phone rang on, feeling a hiccup form in her throat from an escaping sob. Her hand was shaking and she let out a quiet whine when Sharpay finally picked up, her voice scratchy and tired.

"Hello?" Sharpay groaned in exhaustion.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Gabriella cried, setting her head against her knees to quiet her voice.

"Gabriella? Are you okay?" Sharpay asked.

"Sharpay…" Gabriella cried, feeling her back become hot as she cried.

"Do you need me to come over? Does Zeke need to kick someone's butt?" Sharpay asked, suddenly up and ready for a good fight.

Gabriella shook her head and wiped her cheeks roughly.

"Why didn't you tell me Troy couldn't play basketball anymore?" She asked as she started to cry harder.

There was no answer from Sharpay except for a muffled thud and then a tired curse word from Zeke.

"I thought you told her!" Sharpay exclaimed, putting her hand over the receiver so that Gabriella couldn't hear her, but she did anyway.

"Told her what?" Gabriella heard Zeke ask.

"That Troy couldn't play basketball anymore!"

Gabriella got up from the floor holding her stomach to stop the sick feeling forming inside as she lay on her bed.

"I'm so sorry, Gabriella." Sharpay said as a 'the couch is uncomfortable!' came from Zeke.

"Sharpay, this is all my fault." Gabriella hiccupped.

"No, Gabi, it's not." Sharpay whispered. "You couldn't have done anything to stop this."

"He got shot because of me." Gabriella whispered as tears rolled down her face.

"No." Sharpay said firmly. "You had _nothing_ to do with this. You didn't do anything wrong. Troy did just fine without basketball and he would never blame you for what happened."

"He does, Shar." Gabriella replied. "I saw it in his eyes."

"Then you've obviously forgotten to read what his eyes say in the time you've been gone. He's fine. You're fine." Sharpay reassured her.

"I feel so bad." Gabriella explained as she sniffled.

"I know, Gabi, I know." Sharpay whispered.

"I'm sorry for waking you up." Gabriella said quietly.

"Hey, no problem. I've done it millions of times before. But, Gabi? Why did you call me instead of Tay?"

"Taylor would have told Chad."

"Ah, and he would have told Troy, got it." Sharpay laughed quietly.

"Thanks for being there for me." Gabriella smiled softly.

"Get some rest." Sharpay whispered.

Gabriella nodded to herself and slowly moved her phone away from her ear as she shut it off. She tossed it on her nightstand and stared at the glowing clock that now read 1:30. She sighed as she felt warm tears rolled down her cheeks and quickly wiped them away. She closed her eyes, letting her tears flood the corners of her eyes as she tried to think of things other than the fact that Troy had never experienced his dream all because of her. She fell asleep thinking of Taylor and Chad and Sharpay and Zeke living happily ever after, but that only lead her to think about her happily ever after and if she'd end up actually seeing it.

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**Like it? Review! **

**Much love,**

**unknownbyhim22**


	13. Chapter 13

**Hey! Here's chapter thirteen! I thought this story needed some drama in it that wasn't all about crying, so I wrote this chapter. This story is coming to an end and I'm going to probably post the rest of it this weekend! I have 2 new stories written that I want to post so I'm just finishing this one to move on already! Enjoy! **

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**Chapter thirteen**

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Gabriella was at Taylor's house, watching as Taylor paced frantically in her bedroom, trying to figure out what she was going to wear when she went to go see Chad. Gabriella laughed as Taylor tossed another unsuitable skirt on the floor.

"Tay, why are you freaking out? I mean, you see Chad everyday. He doesn't care about what you wear." Gabriella said as she shifted in her spot on the side of Taylor's bed.

"Tonight's going to be special." Taylor stated.

Gabriella raised her right eyebrow and shot Taylor a suspicious look.

"How is it going to be special, exactly?" Gabriella asked.

"Look at this text." Taylor said as she tossed Gabriella her phone.

Gabriella cautiously picked up the phone and scrolled down the multiple texts that Taylor had from Chad. She opened one of them and read it out loud.

"Taylor, I have to ask you an important question. Meet me at our restaurant and wear something nice." It said.

Gabriella looked up at Taylor and smiled.

"You have a restaurant?" Gabriella laughed quietly.

"Gabriella." Taylor sighed. "That's beside the point. Chad is going to ask me something!"

"Oh no! What will you do?" Gabriella said sarcastically.

"I have a feeling that this question is _very_ important." Taylor said quickly.

"How can this question be any different than any other question?" Gabriella asked with a confused expression on her face.

"This could be THE question!" Taylor shouted quickly.

Gabriella blinked slowly and looked at Taylor with the same expression she had been wearing for the past few minutes.

"Let me give you some hints." Taylor said impatiently. She scurried around her room and ripped a magazine out of her magazine holder, flipping it open to a certain page. She went over to a box on her desk and took out an invitation, and then she walked over and placed it on the bed next to Gabriella. "What do all of these have in common?" She asked.

Gabriella gazed down at the magazine and the invitation. She looked at it for a minute and then jumped off of the bed with wide eyes.

"No way!" Gabriella screeched as she pulled Taylor into a huge hug. She jumped up and down and continued to squeal and holler.

"I don't know for sure, but I'm expecting it!" Taylor replied as she hugged her best friend.

"Can I be your maid of honor? What color dresses are you having? What flavored cake? How many bridesmaids are you having? Is Chad going to wear a traditional suite? Can I be your kid's Godmother? You should really look into sending your children to that preschool up the street. I heard it's really good…"

"Gabriella!" Taylor stopped her by putting her hand over her mouth. "He hasn't even asked me yet." She laughed.

Gabriella screeched again and jumped up and down.

"No way!" Gabriella twirled in her spot and then she walked towards the door. "I'm going to research wedding planners online and maybe some prices on cribs! Oh, and wear that little black dress you have! It totally says 'I'm expecting that question'!" Gabriella said quickly as she closed the door behind her.

"Okay!" Taylor called after her with a laugh.

Gabriella was halfway up her stairs when her phone rang. She fished it out of her pocket and continued to make her way up the stairs as she answered it.

"Gabriella!" Chad said quickly.

"What's up, Chad?" Gabriella asked.

"I'm going to throw up." Chad stated.

"Ew, Chad. Why did you call to tell me that?" Gabriella asked.

"I have a date with Taylor today and I'm freaking out! I'm asking her a huge question and I'm too nervous to do it!" He explained quickly.

"Well, what do you want to do?" Gabriella asked.

"I think I should just cancel everything! Everything is going wrong! The weather is crappy! We'll be waiting outside in the rain because I was being an IDIOT and never made reservations!" Chad exclaimed.

"No! Whatever you do, do not cancel!" Gabriella said quickly.

"It's raining!" Chad whined.

"Haven't you ever noticed that romantic moments happen in the rain, Chad?" Gabriella asked quickly.

"How do you know I'm asking a romantic question? Did Troy tell you? I'm going to kill him!" Chad panicked.

"No! I'm not talking to Troy, Chad." Gabriella defended herself.

"Why? What happened?" Chad asked.

"I'm not answering that question because it will ruin my mood. I'll meet you at the restaurant before Taylor gets there so we can go through exactly what you'll do. Call me if you need anything!"

"Thanks, Gabi! You're a life saver." Chad answered.

"Well, I _am_ a doctor." Gabriella smiled. "I'll see you soon."

Gabriella quickly got up and grabbed the closest sweat shirt out of her closet and rushed to her car, tossing her cell phone on the car seat before pulling out of the driveway. The windshield wipers moved swiftly back and forth as the rain outside picked up and she squinted to see out of her window. She glanced at her clock and groaned in frustration. She was taking too much time because of the rain. She laid her foot on the gas pedal and went faster.

A few minutes later Gabriella heard a crashing sound and the engine cut, stopping the car almost immediately. She slapped the steering wheel in frustration and grabbed her sweat shirt, pulling it over her head as she opened the door and stepped out into the pouring rain. She ran to the front of her car and cursed in a loud scream when she saw that there was a fallen tree in front of her car and both of her front tires were deflated.

She looked at her surroundings and cursed again when she didn't recognize anything. She started to walk forward and shook her head at herself.

"Just what you need to be doing, Gabriella; wandering in the dark!" She thought, but she kept going because she was thinking of Chad panicking at the restaurant and Taylor being disappointed if she never got there to convince Chad that it wasn't a good idea to cancel his plans.

She shivered as her sweat shirt became soaked and weighed her down. She squinted out the rain that was dripping down her face and her vision blurred as she looked down at the ground.

"The things I do for friends." She thought as she moved out of the road towards the side just in case a car didn't see her. She didn't want to be hit by a car, but as she took another step onto the damp grass, she felt her foot give way underneath her as she landed on mud and the next thing she knew, she was rolling down what felt like the longest hill she ever encountered and with a stabbing pain in her side, she suddenly went out of consciousness.

Chad paced by the restaurant door after calling Gabriella at least twenty times. After giving up on Gabriella he called Troy. Troy sounded tired when Chad called him, but at the mentioning of Gabriella disappearing, he was up and already running out of the door. All at the same time, he was reassuring his best friend that everything was going to be fine; that Taylor would love him even if they had to stand in the rain.

Troy didn't bother filling his tank of gas when he say that it was low, but once his car hauled in the middle of a side road, he was regretting not taking the few extra minutes to fill it up.

He ran down the road, slipping occasionally on the muddy surface of the road. He stopped suddenly when he saw Gabriella's car, running to it, he finally got the chance to feel his heartbeat through his damp shirt.

He was panicking and as he pulled the front door of Gabriella's car open harshly, he knew that he only had a matter of minutes to find her. The car was damp inside and Gabriella's phone was sitting on the passenger's seat with 23 missed calls from Chad. He slammed the door shut and walked quickly on the side of the road, frantically looking in all directions.

He stopped when he saw a footprint in the mud. He noticed that the grass was ripped up and as he peered down into the ditch with a trickling steam running through it, he saw the limp form of Gabriella lying at the bottom of it. He shouted her name and slide down the muddy slope and made his way toward her.

"Gabriella!" He shouted. He turned her body around and lifted the side of her face out of the stream, seeing a line of blood coming from her forehead.

He patted the ground around her and felt the jagged branches and rocks that Gabriella had fallen on. He winced in pain when something cut his hand and as a passing car's headlights flashed suddenly, he saw the pieces of glass all around them. He softly set Gabriella down and raced up the hill, slipping twice before making it up and he waved quickly, screaming for the driver in the car.

"I need help!" He shouted. "Please stop!" His voice cracked and he slide back down towards Gabriella, picking her up gently as he looked up at the road.

He grabbed a long root that was dug into the side of the hill and grabbed onto it, slipping as the added weight of Gabriella weighed them down as he tied to pull them both up.

"Come on, Gabriella. Wake up! I need your help." He said as he held her tighter in his grasp. "I can't make it up." He whispered as he pressed his face in her wet hair.

"Don't hurt him." He heard her whisper so softly that he thought is was only the wind at first. "I'll do anything, just don't hurt him." She mumbled.

"Gabriella! It's okay, stay up!" He shouted.

"He was only helping me get the yearbooks from the office." She whispered. "Why did you shot him?"

"Gabriella! Please! You're delusional!" He shouted, but the weight in his arms became heavier and no more sound came from Gabriella. "Wake up!" He shouted as tears fell from his eyes. "I can't lose you again!"

He felt her lips fall against his neck as she tumbled to the side limply. His arm was throbbing, but the thought of losing Gabriella was making him strong. He dug his foot into the ground, leveling Gabriella against him before using all of his might to pull them both up onto the side of the road. He lay at the top of the hill for a minute before picking Gabriella up in his arms and walking down the road. He walked on and on, so strongly but so weak at the same time. He fell once, clutching Gabriella's body against his so she wouldn't hit the ground and when he felt like giving up he saw the mailbox on the side of the road.

It was the first time Troy Bolton had ever been so happy to see a mailbox. That dark mailbox with reflecting numbers on the side meant that there was a house nearby. He only had to walk a few more yards to find that house to get Gabriella to safety. Troy ran as fast as he could without tripping towards the small house in the distance with a glowing light coming from candles in the windows. He frantically pounded on the door and shouted for someone to open the door.

The door open and Troy's eyes filled with tears.

"I need help." He said slowly to the man and women standing at the front door. "She's hurt." He chocked out.

"We don't have room here, son." The man said sternly.

"Please, just let me call someone."

"Power's out." The man said.

"Richard…" The women whispered. "You can't turn him away."

"Please." Troy said again. "I need help!"

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**Like it? Review! **

**Much love, **

**unknownbyhim22**


	14. Chapter 14

**AW! Who hates me? Sorry! I didn't update like I said I would. It slipped my mind that I had finals this week. I'm taking a minute out of studying to update for you all right now. I hope you're all not too mad at me! Enjoy this chapter! Sorry that it's short!**

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**Chapter fourteen**

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The women elbowed her husband and he looked at her quickly. He sighed, taking his coat off of the coat rack by the door and nodded to Troy.

"There's a barn in the back." He said as he nodded to his wife and shut the door behind him.

Troy followed him to the backyard, feeling his knees become increasingly weak. The man opened the doors and grabbed a blanket that was folded on a bench and placed it on the barn floor, against some hay stacks.

"These storms don't last too long and I'm sure the power will come back soon." He said as he glanced at Gabriella and then back at Troy. "How did this happen?" He asked as Troy set her down.

"I don't know." Troy whispered. "I found her like this."

The man didn't say anything else as he left the barn. Troy knelt down by Gabriella and moved her hair out of her face. His heart was pounding. There was nothing he could do anymore. All he could do now was to sit by her and keep her warm. There was no phone reception due to the storm and his cell phone was no longer in his pocket.

The door opened slowly and the man's wife walked in with blankets and a box. She smiled at him and set the stuff by him.

"I don't know anything about medicine, so I don't know how I can help you. You have to keep her warm, so she needs to get out of those clothes." She said. "I'm sorry about my husband. He's an angry man." She said with a small laugh.

"Thank you." Troy said with a nod. "I don't know how I can repay you."

"No need. It's nice to do a good deed once in a while." She smiled and patted Troy's arm softly. "Good luck."

Troy nodded and looked down at Gabriella as the barn door shut. He slowly peeled off her sweater and his heart sank when he turned it around in his hands to see that the sweat shirt was his from high school; his name clearly visible on the back. He grabbed the blankets that the women had brought in and wrapped it tightly around Gabriella's body. He didn't change her clothes. He knew that if Gabriella knew he did that she would kill him and that thought made a small smile form on his face, but it faded quickly under the circumstances.

He took his jacket off and placed it next to him to dry out. He took off his shoes and then Gabriella's. He pulled the box that was included with the blankets, towards him and opened it, revealing a first aid kit. He cleaned Gabriella up and pulled out the drying mud and leaves out of her hair.

Gabriella was shallowly breathing and it was starting to worry Troy. He got up and walked towards the back of the barn towards the lanterns he saw when he first got there. He lit one with a match in the first aid kit and set it next to Gabriella.

He lay down next to her, placing another blanket over her and pulled her against him, wrapping his arms around her and he sheltered her with his body as he tried to keep her warm. He was shaking in the mean time, but he didn't think about his freezing body, instead he thought of keeping Gabriella warm.

"You're going to be okay, Gabi." He whispered against her hair. "You can't leave me. You're not supposed to leave me." He said. "I never needed to play basketball in college. I needed to know you were doing what you wanted. I needed you, but I was scared when you left so that is why I broke up with you. It was a mistake. A mistake I wished I could take back." He whispered.

Troy stayed next to Gabriella, rubbing her arm to keep her warm and as he lay next to her, no space in between them, he told her everything he wanted to tell her. Things he never got to tell her. Things she already knew. He talked and talked because in a way he knew she could hear him and that is what kept him strong, what kept him warm even though he was shaking so badly. Gabriella loved rain, he remembered. That is what kept him going.

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**Once again, sorry it is short. I'll work on this story after finals when summer is here! Review please!**

**Much love,**

**unknownbyhim22**


	15. Chapter 15

**Hey! My sister made me update. LOL I was going to wait to get more reviews before I updated again. I have up to chapter 18 written, so review to let me complete this story already! I would like to thank **FeyJoy29, zanessakaren, ZacBabyVxx, and zacvanessaxx!** You guys always review! ALWAYS! Thanks! **

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**Chapter fifteen**

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Troy looked at Gabriella, memorizing the feel of her in his arms. He ran his hand through her dark hair and watched as her eyelids fluttered open.

Gabriella blinked slowly, squinting as her head filled with pain. She flinched when she saw Troy lying next to her and she tried to sit up, but a pain down her back stopped her. She winced in pain and fell back in her spot against the hay.

"Troy." She whispered. "Where are we? Why are you here?"

Troy sat up quickly when he saw her eyes shut again. He took her hand in his and shook it softly.

"You fell, Gabriella. Do you remember falling?" He asked her quickly.

"Chad's going to kill me." She whispered. "I need to see Chad."

Troy felt a pang of jealousy rise inside of him, but he quickly shook it off, knowing Chad was no threat. Chad would be an engaged man in no time. He took his now-dry jacket off and placed it over Gabriella, seeing that she was still shaking.

"You need to stay up, Gabriella." Troy said softly. "You have to stay with me."

Gabriella shook her head weakly.

"The nightmares say I don't belong here." Gabriella said as she tried to open her eyes again. "The man said I have to go now." She mumbled.

Troy shook her arm gently and gave her a confused look.

"What man? What are you talking about, Gabriella?" Troy asked.

"The nightmares." She said quietly. "The man that shot you. He wants me to go."

"I don't want you to go." Troy said in a demanding way.

Gabriella let out a delusional laugh.

"What's your name again?" She asked.

"Gabriella! Stop fooling around! It's not funny." Troy nearly shouted. "You remember me! I'm Troy! You're sick… you're tired! You fell down the ditch and I found you and now we're here!" He said quickly.

"I don't remember that." She whispered.

"What do you remember?" Troy asked quickly.

"Taylor's getting married." Gabriella's head tilted to the side with the weight of her extreme exhaustion.

"Stay up." Troy blurted. "You need to stay up!" He panicked.

"I'm tired." She whispered.

"No." Troy said strongly. "Stay up."

Gabriella shook her head. Troy breathed in deeply and quickly leaned towards Gabriella, tilting her head back towards him, kissing her deeply, making up for all of the lost years that kept them from kissing like they did in high school. He pulled away and Gabriella was looking right at him, her breathing clearly seen by the rising and falling of her chest.

"You're so cold." She whispered as her eyes became heavy again. "Usually you're warm. I remember." She whispered. "Troy Bolton..." She started. "Is not cold."

"What _am_ I?" He asked, trying to keep her up and thinking.

"Mine." She said as she lifted her shaking hand to his chest, placing it on his scar. "You're mine." She whispered.

"That's all I want to be." Troy said as tears flooded his eyes, pulling Gabriella up from her spot, sitting her on his lap. A small whimper came from Gabriella, but as Troy was going to ask if she was okay, she was already wrapping one of her blankets around him, squinting away her headache, and setting her face against his neck.

Troy's eyes were fighting to stay open and he caught himself tilting over a few times, but kept telling himself to stay up. He shifted in his spot and as he did, the barn door opened and the women from earlier walked in. She had a relieved smile on her face and she motioned for Troy to stand up.

"The phones are working. An ambulance is on its way here." She said. "You can take her to the front or wait here for them to come."

"Thank you." Troy said as he stood up with Gabriella in his arms.

The woman nodded and Troy stepped outside, feeling a few raindrops fall on him as he walked to the front yard, towards the road. Troy's heart beat quickened at the sound of the ambulance in the distance. He stopped by the road, nodding thankfully at the woman and watched as the ambulance pulled up quickly by him.

At first his arms wouldn't release Gabriella when the paramedic told him to hand her over, but after being reassured a few times he finally let them take her. He hugged the woman gratefully and waved to the man who was perched on his porch.

"What's her name?" One of the paramedics asked when Troy stepped into the ambulance with them.

"Gabriella Montez. She's twenty three years old." He said quickly.

"Does she have any history of injuries?" The paramedic asked.

"She broke her leg when she was twelve. When she was eighteen she broke a few ribs during a hostage crisis at our high school. She had severe bruises too." Troy said. "She's lost some blood since I found her and she can't stop shaking."

The man looked at him for a moment, taking his eyes off of Gabriella. The man driving the ambulance glanced at him from the rear view mirror, wondering what the talk was all about.

"You're Troy Bolton?" The man asked.

Troy nodded slowly.

"Yeah. How do you know?" He asked in confusion.

"I found you in the hallway during the hostage crisis." The man said.

Troy blinked quickly and cleared his throat to get rid of the choked up feeling he was experiencing.

"Don't worry." The paramedic said. "I won't let her be taken away from you. Not again." The man said with a sincere look on his face.

"Thank you." Troy barely whispered.

The man nodded and looked at Gabriella, checking her breathing in the process. Troy stayed by Gabriella as they ran her into the hospital. He stayed with her even when the nurses told him that he would have to be examined for any injuries. He refused and he stubbornly stood by Gabriella as they stitched her forehead and stuck IVs in her. The only time he looked away from her was when he saw the large bruise on her back. That bruise brought back terrible memories that he didn't want to go back to.

"Sir, we need to check if you have any injuries." A nurse said when they were done with Gabriella.

"I can't leave her." He said.

"It will only be ten minutes." She told him.

"Ten minutes can determine life or death." Troy said as he looked at Gabriella's still figure on the hospital bed.

"She's not going to die, sir." The nurse stated.

"I can't. I'm sorry." He said.

"Call someone if you need any help." She said as she shook her head and left the room.

Troy walked over to Gabriella and sat down on the chair next to her bed. He sighed deeply, placing his arms in a folded position on the side of her bed. He placed his hand on her arm and set his head down, falling asleep to the sound of the regularly beating heart monitor standing next to him.

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**Review everyone! I want to update very soon! Like today! Any minute now... right now! Hurry and review!**

**Much love, **

**unknownbyhim22**


	16. Chapter 16

**Hey everyone! Keep reviewing and I'll continue to update ASAP! This story has eighteen chapters so it's almost done! Review, Review, and Review! Enjoy!**

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**Chapter sixteen**

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Troy woke up to a screech, and when he lifted his head he noticed that it was dark in the room, indicating that it was now night time. He wondered how long it had been and why no one had come to see them. Did anyone know they were here? He forgot about his current worries to worry about Gabriella as she sat up quickly with escaping gasps of pain.

"Shh… it's okay." Troy said quickly.

Gabriella jumped again, not realizing that anyone was with her. She put her hand to her head and looked around the room. She squinted her eyes and looked mad as she glanced at her heart monitor.

"Why the hell are we in a hospital?" She asked quietly.

"Do you remember what happened?" Troy asked.

"I fell." Gabriella said. "It was just a hill."

"You don't remember anything after that?" Troy asked her.

"No." Gabriella stated.

Troy's heart dropped in disappointment.

"Why are you here?" She asked.

"I found you in a ditch." Troy said with the slightest bit of "duh" in his voice.

"Chad's going to kill me." She said as she crossed her arms over her chest and leaned back against her pillows.

Troy watched as Gabriella shook her head and wondered if her fall had suddenly made her pissed off and mean. He looked at her and she glanced away from him, looking out of the window.

"I take it you remember much more before the fall than after?" Troy said as he leaned back in his chair and kept his eyes on her.

"Well, ruining your future is hard to forget about; no matter what you fall off of."

"You're sitting in a hospital bed, hurting more than anything and you're worried about me?" He asked, shaking his head at her selflessness.

"I don't hurt." She said curtly.

"Okay, you don't hurt." Troy said to her with an eye roll.

"You know, you don't have to stay with me. I'm fine." She said quickly.

"Will you stop?" Troy spat, sitting up in his chair and giving her a hard look.

"What are you talking about?" She asked as she looked away from the window and at him.

"Stop pushing me away, okay? Just stop. I'm here because you almost killed yourself! Just stop trying to push me out of your life." He said angrily.

Gabriella's face obviously showed that she wasn't expecting to be yelled at, and she furrowed her brow as she looked at Troy's anger.

"I am not pushing you away. You broke up with me, remember?" Gabriella asked angrily.

"Oh, please, Gabriella that was five years ago! Get over it." Troy whisper yelled.

"You promised you'd always be there for me!" Gabriella replied feeling tears form in her eyes with the sudden memory of the past.

"So did you!" Troy said angrily. "_You_ left me." Troy stated coldly.

"I'm not having this conversation now. Not like this." Gabriella said as looked away from him.

"Then when are we going to talk about this?" Troy asked as he tried to calm down. "You won't talk about it."

Gabriella shook her head and Troy stood up, pushing his chair away from him.

"Have a good life then." He said as he walked towards the door.

"Troy." Gabriella said quietly. "Don't."

Troy walked out of the room, closing the door behind him and quickly walked down the hospital hallway. He glanced at a few doctors as they ran past him and he stopped walking when he saw Chad, Taylor, Sharpay, and Zeke running in his direction. Sharpay and Zeke were in they're pajama's still and Chad and Taylor were still in their formal outfits.

"Troy! We just heard about Gabi!" Sharpay said quickly.

"Where are you going?" Chad asked his best friend.

"I'm leaving. I'm out of here for good." Troy said as he avoided eye contact with the girls, keeping his eyes only on Chad.

"Dude." Zeke started to protest.

"I'm not doing this anymore. I give up." He explained.

"You can't leave!" Sharpay nearly shouted.

Zeke put his hand on her arm, calming her down for everyone's sake. Chad shot his friend a look. Troy shook his head and started to leave again, but was stopped when his arm was jerked back. He came face to face with Taylor who was glaring at him angrily.

"You jerk." She hissed. "You put her through enough. Don't you dare stand here and say that _you_ had enough! _We _all had enough of this! You haven't even been involved! I had to sit by and watch her cry herself to sleep every night when we were in college! Chad and Zeke had to talk to her through the night all of the time to make sure she was okay! And you sit here and say that you have had enough? Please! You've seen nothing!" She said as she grabbed Sharpay's hand and pulled her into Gabriella's room.

Troy blinked back the hurt he was feeling and looked at his two best friends that were standing with their heads down, looking at their feet. Troy ran his hand through his hair and then slammed his fist against the wall in anger.

"I don't know what I can do anymore!" He admitted to his friends.

He looked at his friends and Chad smiled softly. Zeke shook his head with no answer.

"Troy Bolton does not give up." Chad said with a shrug.

"Troy Bolton is no one without Gabriella Montez." Troy pointed out sadly.

"Leaving her isn't going to get her back." Zeke told Troy.

"What happens if she doesn't love me anymore?" Troy asked. "Am I just going to have to sit back and let that happen?"

"She loves you." Chad told him.

"I don't know…" Troy started.

"She came back." Chad said. "No matter what, Gabriella has always come back. Now you just have to meet her half way."

"Yeah, we can't play match maker for the rest of our lives." Zeke teased him.

"I'm going to be a married man! I can't be worrying about my best friend's love life _and_ a wedding." Chad smiled.

Troy smiled widely at his friends, excited for Chad.

"_And_ I'm going to be a dad in December... I have huge things to worry about!"

Troy and Chad's mouths dropped and they both started to laugh slightly. Zeke only smiled proudly and they gave him manly hugs.

"Wow." Troy said. "And I thought I had things to worry about."

"You just have to figure everything out and you'll be fine." Chad said with a nod. "And in the mean time, I have to calm my _fiancé_ down before she comes up with a plan to kill you." Chad said as he gestured towards Gabriella's room.

"Okay. I'm going to get cleaned up and I'll be back." Troy said with a nod before heading to his house to shower and change.

Gabriella smiled at her friends as they stood in the darkness of the room, looking at her from the spots around the room. Sharpay and Taylor had told her their news. Taylor was engaged to Chad and Sharpay was expecting a baby in December. She was so happy for them, but she found herself looking at the hospital door constantly to see if Troy was coming back.

"He's coming back." She heard Chad say, making her blink out of her haze and come back to reality.

"Who?" Gabriella asked, pretending she didn't already know.

"Troy." Chad said as he glanced at Zeke.

"Oh… I don't care." Gabriella said as she felt Taylor's hand grip tighter on her hand.

Taylor and Sharpay were on either side of her. They hadn't let go of her hands since they got into the room. She was starting to get the feeling that they were expecting her to die.

"Gabriella, you know you can just admit…" Sharpay started but Gabriella interrupted her.

"I don't have anything to admit. Troy and I have done our fair share of running away so it's obvious that there's nothing between us anymore, okay?" She said somewhat angrily to everyone in the room.

"Okay." Chad whispered quietly.

The room was quiet until the door opened quickly and Mr. and Mrs. Bolton and Ms. Montez came in huffing and puffing.

"Gabriella Montez! Why didn't you call me?" Ms. Montez asked as she quickly scurried over to her daughter's side.

The group of friends discreetly left the room, parking their selves in the hallway. Taylor noticed the sniffling sound a few seats away from her and saw Sharpay crying. Zeke was rubbing her arm and she looked up to notice Chad and Taylor exchanging unsure looks.

"I'm fine, really. I'm just moody." Sharpay said with a nod. "It just makes me sad that Gabriella doesn't know how sad Troy really was. The only thing Gabriella knows is how she is feeling."

"She doesn't know the whole story." Chad shook his head.

"What story?" Taylor asked.

"I have an idea!" Zeke said quickly. "Come on! Follow me!" He said, pulling Sharpay up out of her chair.

Chad and Taylor exchanged a look, but followed Sharpay and Zeke out of the hospital. It was rare when Zeke came up with the plans, but they knew that when he finally did come up with something it always worked.

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**Don't forget to review!**

**Much love,**

**unknownbyhim22**


	17. Chapter 17

**Hey! AW! This story is ALMOST done! Review so I can post my new story **Back At East High**! I'm really excited for that one and I really want to 'start something new' already. I hope you enjoy this chapter! Review! **

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**Chapter seventeen**

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Zeke, Sharpay, Chad, and Taylor ended up at Chad's house. Everyone but Zeke was confused about the plan that would some how get Gabriella to realize that Troy wasn't the only one at fault. The group was following Zeke into Chad's family room, over to the TV.

"Dude, what are you doing?!" Chad asked when Zeke started to throw around his DVDs.

Zeke was intently flipping around DVDs as he looked at the titles. He stopped when he got to a homemade DVD and he quickly stood up and showed it to the group. Chad and Sharpay smiled deeply, and Chad gave Zeke a high five.

"Yeah! You're a genius!" Chad said with a smile.

"I know!" Zeke admitted.

"Is anyone going to fill me in?" Taylor asked confused.

"Well, Chad was into psychology in his freshman year of college and he had to pick someone to tape; someone who would be emotional." Zeke said.

"And?" Taylor shrugged.

"He taped Troy!" Zeke said.

Taylor blinked slowly, still looking confused.

"He taped Troy when Gabriella left… when she would call him… when he broke up with her!" Zeke said.

"Oh…My… God! You're amazing!" Taylor said as she hugged Zeke tightly.

"I'm the one who taped him!" Chad said as he pointed to himself competitively.

"Great job, sweet heart." Taylor smiled as she kissed Chad softly.

"Thanks." He mumbled.

"What are we waiting for?!" Sharpay said quickly. "We need to get this DVD to Gabriella."

"Are you sure you don't need to rest or something?" Zeke asked as he glanced at her stomach.

"Stop worrying." She said as she grabbed his hand and walked toward the door. "We're fine." She said as she tapped her stomach.

Gabriella's eyes opened when she heard her room door open again after the adults left. She gave her friends a weird look as Chad popped a DVD into the DVD player hanging from the ceiling and then they ran out as it played.

"What is this?" Gabriella called after them, but the door slammed shut before they replied.

"_I'm Chad Danforth and you're watching a video very special to my heart! I decided to video tape my best friend, Troy Bolton, for my psychology project. He wasn't very happy as I taped him, but I know one day he might thank me for this… or not."_

Gabriella furrowed her brow as she listened to Chad on the TV screen. She had a bad feeling in her stomach and she was about to shout for her friends again, but then Troy came on the screen. The scene faded into a quiet street; a street Gabriella recognized as Troy's. Chad's voice was heard from behind the camera as he filmed.

_"I'm about to visit my best friend at his house. I talked to his mother and he is apparently in a bad mood." Chad said as he made his way up the walkway at Troy's house._

Gabriella watched as Chad made his way up the Bolton's house. Her heart pounded as the upstairs came into few. She hadn't seen Troy's upstairs or his room since high school, and she was suddenly nervous. Chad pushed Troy's bedroom door open and Gabriella saw Troy lying on his bed, looking up at the ceiling. He turned his head, and he sat up quickly, seeing Chad.

_"What the crap, Chad! Why are you filming me?" He asked._

_"You're my psychology project!" Chad said cheerfully._

_"I don't want to be you're psychology project." He sad angrily._

_"Too bad!" Chad whispered to him. "Just go along with it!" _

_"What do I have to do?" Troy sighed._

_"Just be yourself." Chad instructed._

_"Well, as you can see, I'm not myself." Troy said as he pinched a piece of his pajama shirt between his fingers. "I'm sleeping in." _

_"Why is that?" Chad asked calmly._

_"Because I didn't sleep last night." Troy said with a roll of his eyes. _

_"Why not? Is it because Gabriella…" _

Gabriella's eyes widened as she watched Troy jump off of his bed and pull Chad out of his room and slam the door shut. Chad grunted as he hit the floor of the hallway, holding the camera to show his face.

_"I think I found his sensitive spot." Chad said as he reached up to turn the camera off. _

The scene soon changed and it was filmed from what looked like a secretive spot. There was part of a blanket covering half of the screen, but you could see Troy sitting at his kitchen table. It was dark outside and he was in a white t-shirt and basketball shorts. His elbows were propped up on the table and he looked somewhat happy.

_"I miss you too." He said as he traced invisible objects on the table top. "School's good... how's school there? Are you even smarter than before?" He laughed. Troy listened for a while, nodding and smiling a few times. He frowned quickly though and shrugged to himself. "Basketball hasn't really started yet." He said as he looked up at the ceiling, cursing himself silently. "Alright… yeah… goodnight…I…um… love you too." He said._

_He slowly hung up, slamming his fists on the table, making his phone move across the table. He sat there with a hurt look on his face and then he stood up angrily. _

_"Chad! Stop filming me!" He shouted._

Gabriella sniffled as she shifted in her hospital bed, looking up at the screen. Troy was now chasing Chad around his kitchen and they were yelling at each other as they did so. Chad appeared on the screen. He was sitting in his own kitchen this time.

_"It's been a hard week for my friend, Troy Bolton. I haven't seen him happy yet. I have a bad feeling that this madness is going to make him do something stupid and I better watch out or he'll end up killing me!" Chad said. "I think the worst part of this thing was seeing him not able to try out for the basketball team. It's obvious that he's ready to break down any day now." He said sadly._

The scene changed to the University of Albuquerque. Chad was filming from a distance and Sharpay and Zeke could be seen in the corner of the screen, whispering to each other in the library. Chad was filming Troy.

_Troy was studying at a round table by a shelf of books. He was in the middle of the library, looking slightly sad. A louder noise could be heard and the camera moved to the side to film a group of tall, handsome looking guys, walking across the library. One of the guys had a basketball in his hand and waved to Chad with an 'I know you' nod. _

_Chad went back to Troy and filmed him. He shifted in his seat, looking away from the basketball team. He flipped a page in the book he was studying from and then his phone rang. He picked it up and looked at the caller id and left it ringing, ignoring the call._

Gabriella gasped quietly and sadly. She didn't know it got this bad; so bad that he would ignore her phone calls and had to watch his life pretty much walk by him in a happy group of basketball players. Gabriella felt a tear fall down her cheek when she saw the next scene.

_"I know, Gabriella!" Troy shouted into his phone. The scene was being shot on the Bolton's front porch. Chad must have been in Troy's room because all you could see was the top of Troy's head and his sitting form on the porch. _

_"Do you think I don't know that?!" He said angrily. "You're half way across the country!" _

_The camera zoomed in on the side of Troy's face and he shook his head angrily._

_"This is too hard, Gabriella. I can't do this anymore." He said quietly. "I'm done. I'm sorry." He said, listening for a couple more seconds before hanging up. _

_He put his head in his hands and rubbed the back of his neck, sitting there for a couple of minutes and then getting up. He walked back into the house and to his room. He looked at Chad and gave the camera an emotionless, blank look. _

_"Did you get what you were looking for, for that project?" He asked curtly. "Or should I be a little more emotional?" He asked angrily._

_"I take it you want me to turn the camera off?" Chad asked from behind the camera._

_"Yeah." Troy said quickly. _

Gabriella sat quietly as the TV went black and the DVD ended. She looked at the closed door of her room and it slowly opened to reveal the group standing in the doorway. Chad walked over to the TV and took the DVD out, pressing the off button after.

"Sorry that you had to see that, but we just wanted to let you know that you weren't the only one hurt when you left." Chad said slowly.

"It's okay." Gabriella said with a small nod. "Thanks…"

"We'll leave you alone." He said quietly.

Gabriella nodded again and watched as the door closed behind her friends, leaving her in a room full of darkness once again. She looked at the cut on her hand and traced it with her finger. She felt tears falling from her eyes but didn't care to wipe them away. She closed her eyes and started to feel the pain that she was trying to ignore all day; the pain all over her body and the pain slowly breaking her heart a little bit more.

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**ONE MORE CHAPTER!**

**Much love, **

**unknownbyhim22**


	18. Chapter 18

**THE LAST CHAPTER!! Are you excited? Or sad? I'm excited, truth be told. I can't wait to post a new story! I hope you all come back and read my new stuff! I hope you like this chapter! **

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**Chapter eighteen**

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Gabriella opened her eyes when she heard her room door open. It was still night and she wondered how long this night was going to last, because it was one of the worst nights of her life. Troy was tip toeing over to the chair that was next to her, unaware that she was now up. He sat down quietly and looked over at Gabriella. He smiled half heartedly when he noticed that she was up.

"You could have called." She said quietly.

"Uhh… I didn't exactly have your room number." He whispered.

"No, I mean, you could have called when you couldn't make the basketball team." She whispered. "Or to break up with me sooner."

"What? You wanted me to break up with you sooner?" He asked as he leaned forward and put his arms on her bed to balance his self.

"If it was hurting you that badly to be with me." She said as she felt tears appear in her eyes.

"Where is this coming from? I thought you hated me for breaking up with you." He said in confusion.

"I saw Chad's psychology project." She whispered to him.

Troy sighed deeply and shook his head in anger. He didn't say anything else as he looked at her. After a few minutes of letting her answer sink in, he spoke.

"It's not that being with you was hurting me. It was being away from you." He admitted. "I couldn't handle it."

"You should have told me that." Gabriella said.

"I couldn't. You were so happy at Yale and telling you that I was upset would have made you upset." He explained.

"I hate to break it to you, but I was upset anyway." She said with a small laugh.

"I'm sorry." Troy whispered.

"I'm the one who should be apologizing. I only thought of myself, and I'm sorry." She said sincerely.

"So are we okay?" Troy asked quietly.

"Just as long as you promise not to leave me." She said.

Troy smiled with a nod.

"Only if you promise that you won't push me away." He laughed.

"I promise." She whispered.

Troy smiled and Gabriella scouted over slowly and patted the space next to her. Troy carefully lay down next to her and wrapped his arms around her gently.

"This feels good." Troy whispered with a laugh.

"You're telling me." Gabriella said with a smile as she looked up at Troy.

After a few minutes of laying together in silence Gabriella finally said something.

"So do you really think breaking up with me was a mistake?" She asked.

"What?" Troy asked in confusion. "I said that in the…"

"The barn." Gabriella whispered. "I know. I heard it."

"I thought you didn't remember anything." Troy said.

Gabriella shook her head and played with Troy's sleeve.

"I lied." She admitted.

"Yeah. I do think it was a mistake." He whispered.

"Troy…" Gabriella started as she looked up at Troy directly into his eyes.

Troy looked down at her and smiled at the small distance between their faces.

"I really missed kissing you." She smiled.

Troy leaned closer to her and stopped as they're noses touched.

"I missed _you_." He whispered before kissing her passionately.

Gabriella smiled through the kiss and loved the feeling of fitting in Troy's arms even after five years of growing away from each other; after dangerous adventures and heart wrenching decisions, they still fit together.

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**AW! I just want to say thanks to all of you! I'm glad I could share this "adventure" with you! I can't believe starting Taken Away in Feburary would lead to Pushed Away all the way to June! Thanks again! I love you all! Review ONE more time!**

**Much love,**

**unknownbyhim22**


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